SAN FRANCISCO — Sixty-five minutes before tipoff, Jonathan Kuminga stood at his locker after running pregame sprints across the Warriors’ training-room floor in the Chase Center. As he warmed up, ESPN reported that the Warriors were bringing him off the bench even though they had Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton unavailable.
Kuminga said he hadn’t yet talked face-to-face with Steve Kerr about the decision.
“It’s his decision,” Kuminga said. “I’m not the coach. If Steve’s made his decision, he’s made his decision. I’m not the coach.”
Kuminga said he’s “not tripping” about coming off the bench, but that there is growing skepticism within Kuminga’s camp about Kerr’s commitment to featuring the wing in Golden State’s offense.
Just three games into the season, after Kuminga’s camp and the Warriors couldn’t strike a deal on a rookie extension, tensions are bubbling between the two sides.
Negotiations never gained serious traction between the Warriors and Kuminga before the rookie extension deadline. The Warriors valued in-season flexibility that would’ve disappeared had they extended Kuminga. Kuminga’s camp wasn’t hard-lined at the max-contract, but never received offers they deemed market value, per sources.
On Tuesday night, Kerr declined to announce a starting lineup in his pregame press conference. When asked directly if Kuminga would start, he said, “Possibly.”
Kerr then didn’t have to answer questions pregame about his starting lineup of Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis. It appears the Warriors prioritized Moody’s 3-point shooting over Kuminga’s downhill threat, as well as keeping the continuity of Green and Jackson-Davis together.
Choosing to bring Kuminga off the bench against New Orleans is a surprising decision from the coaching staff. With Curry, Wiggins and Melton each ruled out with injuries, the game shaped up one in which the Warriors would need to feature Kuminga heavily on offense. He averaged 16.1 points per game last season and is arguably Golden State’s most naturally gifted scorer.
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Kuminga has struggled to start the season, though. Through the first three games of the season, he’s averaging 8.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game. The big lineup with Kuminga playing small …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
