Jonathan Kuminga, after signing his two-year, $48.5 million extension with the Warriors, started the season on a very strong note. He seemingly found a fixed role as a Warriors starter after multiple 20+ point games to start the regular season.
However, Steve Kerr‘s latest decision seems to have cast a shadow of doubt over Kuminga’s role with the team. Following the Warriors’ 126-120 comeback win over the Spurs, Kerr announced he will be going with the same lineup to start the game in their next fixture as he did tonight.
Before the game. Kerr announced that Will Richard had replaced Kuminga on the starting lineup for tonight after thoroughly impressing veterans in their last game. Additionally, Kuminga was also sidelined mid-game due to knee soreness. Kerr’s confidence in the new starting lineup could bring unfortunate news for Kuminga.
The 23-year-old forward Kuminga has averaged 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists so far this season, while shooting 47.8% from the field. He did not score tonight as he only played 12 minutes before being benched for the rest of the night.
For now, his knee soreness could be the reason for this change, or even simply the fact that this starting lineup was effective against the Spurs tonight, and they are facing them in a rematch on Friday.
However, if Richard impresses Kerr in that position, then Kuminga could lose his starter role for good. Especially considering that Richard is a better shooter than Kuminga, and Kerr wants more shooting around Jimmy Butler in the starting lineup.
Following the free agency drama that went down during the offseason, Kuminga was reportedly eager to either earn his place on the team or find another landing spot to be traded elsewhere.
For Kuminga to be traded to a team of his choice, he needs to have the leverage with the Warriors’ front office to make it happen. If Kuminga continues to be benched instead of starting, he may not get significant opportunities to generate interest from other teams as well.
In essence, Kuminga needs to perform well for things to happen the way he wants them to. If he gets benched and lets his lack of minutes cost his approach and production, then Kuminga would lose any leverage that he would have in the trade market at the moment.
Several reports claimed that Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler were referencing Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski when he called out the Warriors’ lack of commitment to winning and their personal agendas.
Kuminga, considering he is rumored to want a trade away from the team, is prone to focusing on his own agenda of standing out in games instead of contributing to the team’s agenda.
Similarly, Podziemski claimed earlier this season that he wants to take over the franchise from Stephen Curry eventually, and that agenda could also interfere with the Warriors’ team goals. Hence, there’s a strong case for both players to be the ones being viewed as the problem in the locker room.
Considering that Kuminga is only starting his career, he is likely not to be content with a role of coming off the bench like Al Horford was. If Kuminga is eventually forced to come off the bench in games, I do not see another way out for the Warriors except trading him eventually for minimal value.
