The Jonathan Kuminga situation in Golden State has gotten pretty toxic, and it’s not clear how it’s going to end. But it is pretty clear how it started. In fact, it reminds me of a situation the Jazz had not too long ago that did not end well either.
Kuminga joined the Warriors, who were already an established core with superstars returning from injury. The problem for Kuminga is that he was a prospect with a huge ceiling, but he was going to be a project. The problem with a project like Kuminga on an established team like the Warriors was that it made it difficult for him to find time to play when the Warriors were fighting for playoff positioning. What happened? Kuminga would be criticized hard for making any mistake and would get benched for it quickly. Making things worse is the front office and ownership, who picked Kuminga, would push for him to play.
LACOB HAS BEEN a central figure in Kuminga’s NBA career since the beginning. Bob Myers was team president and Dunleavy assistant general manager when they drafted Kuminga in 2021. They gave the collective green light, but Lacob was a driving force in the selection when others, including a few on the coaching staff, voiced a Franz Wagner preference, sources said.
This whole situation reminds me of the Dante Exum situation all over again. It’s the same pieces just change the names to Dante Exum, Quin Snyder, and Dennis Lindsey. Now that Kuminga is on the verge of the a potential qualifying offer, the Warriors are looking to end up with close to nothin for the former #7 overall pick. For Utah, they ended up with a trade that netted them Jordan Clarkson and nothing else. It’s certainly something the Warriors are dreading, but that looks like where this is going.
So how can Utah avoid this situation again? It’s a tightrope that Will Hardy and the front office are going to need to walk. But it does appear that they’re in a better spot now than in the Quin Snyder era. For one, the Jazz appear to have more cohesion between the coach and the front office. Having separate goals with different players on different timelines can create a lot of issues. Over time, that relationship will corrode like it did with Snyder and Lindsey.
The other conflict comes with coaches coaching to win games and keep their jobs, and GMs pushing for certain players to justify their draft picks. The way to keep things cohesive is to allow the coach to play who he wants and coach in a way to win the game. Utah appears to understand this, as evidenced by their most recent comments about not manipulating lineups to lose games. It’s also a good sign that we saw Austin Ainge finally make the trades the Jazz needed to make for years, moving Collin Sexton, John Collins, and Jordan Clarkson. The Jazz are still left with some veterans that may get some time, including Kyle Anderson and Georges Niang. The good news for Jazz fans is that Niang and Anderson aren’t on the level as players like Steph Curry and Draymond Green. If Utah’s youth can’t beat them out by the end of the season, then they don’t likely have what it takes long term.
The one player that does make this interesting is Lauri Markkanen. Can they meet their goal of keeping their top-8 pick next year while also playing Markkanen? That’s going to be the biggest question of the season. One thing is clear, it creates at least some of the conflict that has caused issues the last two seasons for Utah, the situation with Kuminga in Golden State, and the problems Utah had with Dante Exum. Utah would be wise to make sure they aren’t overcomplicating its goals soon, or things could pan out badly again.
0 Comments
