Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t mince words when discussing Jonathan Kuminga’s place in his rotation, and Draymond Green made his feelings clear on his coach’s comments about the young forward.
Speaking to Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard, Kerr described Kuminga’s role as a “tricky” situation:
“Jonathan obviously is gifted and wants to play a bigger role and wants to play more, and for me, I’ve been asked to win. And right now, he’s not a guy who I can say I’m going to play 38 minutes with the roster that we have.”
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On his podcast, Draymond Green weighed in, expressing understanding for Kerr’s reasoning while also offering guidance to Jonathan Kuminga.
“One thing that he’s shown as a coach is he’s going to make the decision that he thinks is best regardless of what it comes with,” Green said. “We’re talking about the same legend that didn’t play Jayson Tatum in the Olympics and dealt with all the flak that came with that.
“But at the end, to his point, his ultimate goal is to win. And they won the gold medal, and that’s what he set out to do. But you, JK, you got to make the best decision for you. But Steve Kerr is one of the greatest coaches of all time and JK can only lose here if he says something back.”
Check out his comments from 32:04 onwards:
After Steph Curry sustained an injury early in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State turned to Jonathan Kuminga for offense, and he logged his longest stretch of minutes since March. But the plan fell flat as the Warriors proceeded to lose four straight and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Still, Kuminga produced in Curry’s absence, putting up 20.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Report details why Jonathan Kuminga’s role with Warriors diminished
Fans have long questioned Jonathan Kuminga’s reduced playing time under Steve Kerr, and The Ringer’s Logan Murdock recently revealed a possible explanation.
“Despite his talent, Kuminga’s propensity to look for his shot at the expense of the flow of Golden State’s offense has irked the coaching staff,” Murdock reported.
He cited team sources who recalled a late-season game against the Trail Blazers, where Kerr was reportedly livid after Kuminga continually bypassed Curry to create his offense.
Speculation is now swirling that a split may be imminent, with many around the league expecting Kuminga to either leave outright or be moved in a sign-and-trade this offseason.
alt=”John Ezekiel Hirro” height=”72″ width=”72″>
Edited by John Ezekiel Hirro
