Jimmy Butler’s season-ending ACL injury has put the Warriors in a tough spot, but it has given a lifeline to Jonathan Kuminga’s career with the Golden State. Now that the circumstances have changed, Steve Kerr’s tone seems to have changed as well towards the young forward.
The Warriors’ head coach appeared on the Willard and Dibs show and discussed Jonathan Kuminga’s injury and how crucial he is for their roster from now on.
“Yeah, he’s doing a little bit better. But yeah, not ready to play. He’s doing a little bit on court work, but he’s not ready for anything live… Hopefully, it’s not too bad, and we get him back soon,” Kerr said as he gave an initial update on Kuminga.
“With Jimmy’s injury, it changes everything for us and for JK. We’ll see what happens with the deadline, but if nothing happens, JK’s right back in the rotation… The door is wide open for him now. I hope we get him back,” Kerr further added during his latest interview.
With the Warriors’ future in uncertainty after Jimmy Butler’s injury, Jonathan Kuminga found a silver lining for himself in that situation as he went from being excluded from the minutes rotation to being a key asset for their hopes.
The main issue for Kuminga seems to have begun through a soured relationship with the coaching staff, no matter how much Steve Kerr initially denied it. But it had eventually come to a point where Kerr had given up on the “difficult situation,” saying he had no other option but to bench Kuminga.
Now it does seem that Kerr and the coaching staff simply had a problem with the fit of Butler and Kuminga on the floor at the same time, as he went on to accept that Butler’s absence gives Kuminga a lot more leeway to play like himself.
Kuminga broke back into the rotation against the Raptors in the next game after Butler got hurt. He dropped 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in his bounce back to action while shooting 7-10 from the floor (70 FG%) after being benched for 16 consecutive games.
If they manage to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade package centered around Kuminga, it would be the best possible outcome here for them. Unfortunately for him, he suffered a bone bruise in the very next game against the Mavericks and has since missed four games.
The Warriors are heavily short-handed now and will likely retain Jonathan Kuminga unless they get an exceptional offer for him now, which is unlikely.
Even Stephen Curry (patellofemoral pain syndrome) has been sidelined with Kuminga for the Warriors’ next game against the 76ers at home in San Francisco on Tuesday, February 3.
It will be interesting to see if Kuminga remains on the Warriors roster after the trade deadline and what it means to his relationship with the franchise going forward.
