Jonathan Kuminga delivered one of the best performances of his career on Saturday night, going for 30 points as the biggest positive from the Golden State Warriors’ Game 3 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chase Center.
Despite coming off the bench again, Kuminga was impressive from his opening stint and delivered an efficient two-way performance that helped silence the narrative and perceived problem surrounding him and fellow forward Jimmy Butler.
Jonathan Kuminga and Jimmy Butler proved they can play effectively together
Kuminga was always set for a prominent role after a productive outing in Game 2, but that also went against Steve Kerr’s comments from a month ago when he declared Kuminga, Butler and Draymond Green didn’t fit particularly well.
The Butler-Kuminga dynamic specifically has been a talking point, with the young forward undoubtedly the player most negatively impacted by the All-Star’s arrival via trade in early February.
Kuminga’s place out of the rotation for six of an eight-game span was directly linked to the succesful lineups and rotations the Warriors had found over Butler’s time with the franchise. As a result, it felt like the 22-year-old’s time in the Bay was coming to an end.
How could Golden State pay Kuminga big money as a restricted free agent in the offseason if he was out of the playoff rotation, and perhaps more specifically if he couldn’t play effectively alongside the team’s second-best player?
Not only were those questions emphatically answered with Saturday’s game, but it may have left the Warriors with only one solution when it comes to their decision on Kuminga in the offseason. The forward pair combined for 63 of Golden State’s 97 points in Game 3, having given life to an otherwise lacklustre offense without the injured Stephen Curry.
Kuminga played with the perfect balance of aggression while remaining in control. He shot an efficient 11-of-18 from the floor after going 8-of-11 in Game 2, while he only committed two turnovers in 36 minutes and was a team-best +5. The defense was just as impressive, particularly in the first-half where Kuminga had two blocks as the Warriors kept the Timberwolves to just 40 points.
“It’s a beautiful sight to see. But like I tell everybody, me and him can thrive together,” Butler said of he and Kuminga after the game. The former seventh overall pick also declared that it’s “actually easier” to play alongside Butler, with the duo sharing a 12.5 net rating on Saturday in the 31 minutes they played together.
Now the question has swung and become, how can the Warriors possibly let go of someone capable of dropping an efficient 30 in a high-stakes playoff game? Game 3 was the type of performance that could make Kuminga a lot of money, and could truly incentivize Golden State into making sure they’re the team paying his next contract.
