NBA Insider Tim Kawakami recently appeared on “Willard and Dibs” on “95.7 The Game” to reveal some insight on Jonathan Kuminga‘s future with the Golden State Warriors.
“The likely situation is [Jonathan Kuminga]’s not going to be on the Warriors next season,” he mentioned. “Things can change, but all things being equal, it was probably going to be a tricky situation for him to come back to the Warriors anyway.”
He continued. “I don’t know that he’s going to be galloping to sign a new deal with the Warriors given all this.”
There appears to be some uncertainty with regards to Kuminga’s future with the team, as per Kawakami.
In light of recent events involving the forward, such as the DNP against the Los Angeles Clippers, or the comments by Steve Kerr that followed, Kuminga appears to have fallen out of favor with the Warriors.
This seems to be a rather unfortunate situation for the 22-year-old as he was developing into a rather productive player. Kuminga recorded an average of 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while playing 24.3 minutes per game this season.
Kuminga last suited up for the Warriors’ last game of the season. Playing on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Warriors forward scored 10 points and notched another five rebounds in 17 minutes of playing time. Unfortunately, he was given another DNP for the Play-In matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The forward’s performance definitely took a hit after the Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler. While this did affect his numbers, it was abundantly clear that Kerr was favoring Butler by virtue of the impact the All-Star veteran was having on the floor. For a team attempting to make a run through the postseason, such a move is justified.
This, however, doesn’t necessarily align with Kuminga’s interest. Having found himself in a reduced role, the 22-year-old may not consider it beneficial to play on a team that limits his growth. Considering the problems he had with the franchise and the fact that he “lost faith” in Kerr, it seems that opting to leave would serve him well.
Meanwhile, Golden State emerged victorious from their Play-In game against the Grizzlies and are now primed to play the second-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round.
Game 1 of the Rockets-Warriors series will take place at the Toyota Center on Sunday at 9:30 pm ET. While it is still unknown whether Kuminga will be part of the team’s schemes for this series or not, it will be important for Kerr and the Warriors to prevent any internal conflict from building at this stage.
