Two aspects are top of mind for Jonathan Kuminga and his camp as the young Golden State Warriors forward prepares to hit restricted free agency this offseason.
Getting a big, new life-changing contract is certainly one of those, but so too is finding himself in a situation where he can finally spread his wings and really try to realize the potential that was so evident over the final four games of the playoffs.
Aside from occasions where Stephen Curry has been on the sidelines, the Warriors have seldom granted Kuminga his wish of consistent on-ball opportunity. That’s made the fit between player and franchise incredibly clunky, though it could be about to change if the latest reports are to be believed.
Jonathan Kuminga will be in for a big role if he stays at the Warriors
Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported last week that due to the CBA complications in sign-and-trade scenarios, Golden State may have to re-sign Kuminga and bring him back next season despite having been a DNP for four of the seven first-round series games against the Houston Rockets.
The good news for Kuminga is that if he does return to the Warriors, he’s set for a major role and could be given far more opportunity to flourish. Slater pointed to the age of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler as a reason to why Kuminga is likely to see more on-ball opportunity, while also noting a specific quote from head coach Steve Kerr.
“If JK comes back, we will for sure spend the early part of the season playing him with Jimmy, Draymond, Steph,” Kerr said after Golden State were eliminated. “To me, that would be a no-brainer. We didn’t have that luxury this (past) year.”
Kuminga was dealing with a significant ankle sprain at the time Butler was acquired in early February, meaning the pair didn’t see the floor till March 13 against the Sacramento Kings. By that point Golden State had started to turn their season around, leaving Kuminga as the odd one out when it came to shortening the rotation by the playoffs.
As Kerr alluded to, the Warriors will have more of a runway next season, albeit they won’t be able to afford experimenting too much in a loaded Western Conference. Kuminga put up big numbers in the rare times he played heavy minutes during the regular season, having averaged 26.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists on over 49% shooting from the floor across six games in which he played at least 30 minutes.
