Jonathan Kuminga had a chance to revisit his Golden State Warriors exit after the Atlanta Hawks’ season ended.
He did not use it to take a shot.
Asked during his Hawks exit interview about handling “all the craziness” of an in-season trade and “everything that happened earlier this season with the Warriors,” Kuminga described the move to Atlanta as smooth. He praised the Hawks for welcoming him, but he also made sure to say something positive about the team he left behind.
“I left a group of guys that were very good to me too, like the Warriors and my teammates,” Kuminga said. “So just going from there to here, I think everything was very smooth.”
That is a notable postscript to one of the Warriors’ biggest roster decisions of the season. Golden State traded Kuminga and Buddy Hield to Atlanta in the February deal that brought Kristaps Porzingis to the Warriors, ending Kuminga’s long-running and often complicated tenure with the franchise.
Kuminga’s Warriors Comments Came After the Hawks Exited the Playoffs, and While Golden State Missed the Playoffs Entirely
Kuminga’s comments came after the Hawks were eliminated by the New York Knicks in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. The loss was not close: the Knicks built an NBA playoff-record 47-point halftime lead in the closeout game.
The Warriors did not get that far.
Golden State reached the Play-In Tournament but failed to claim the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors beat the Clippers in an elimination game on April 15 before losing 111-96 to the Phoenix Suns on April 17, with the Suns earning the West’s final playoff spot.
That timing gives Kuminga’s answer more weight. He was not speaking in the immediate shock of the trade. He had already gone through a playoff series with Atlanta, processed the move and started thinking about what comes next.
Kuminga said the season taught him about “the business” of the NBA after dealing with “the trade” and joining a new team.
“I think I learned a lot throughout just throughout the year,” Kuminga said. “The trade, the new team, turning situation, and I think I learned so much.”
Asked what specifically he learned, Kuminga answered: “The business, the game.”
Kuminga Isn’t the Only Former Warriors Player Making Headlines After Klay Thompson Drama
Kuminga is not the only former Warriors player whose name has been in the news since Golden State’s season ended.
Klay Thompson, now with the Dallas Mavericks, has been pulled into a public off-court controversy involving Megan Thee Stallion and WNBA guard Lexie Brown. People reported on May 1 that Brown criticized Thompson for not publicly defending her amid false cheating rumors tied to Thompson’s reported split from Megan Thee Stallion. Brown said she had received death threats and had hired security.
CBS Sports also reported that Brown said she received death threats after rumors involving her and Thompson spread online.
Warriors Could Be in for More Changes With Steve Kerr’s Unresolved Future
Kuminga’s answer also lands while the Warriors face larger questions than just the players they already traded.
Steve Kerr’s future remains unresolved. ESPN reported on April 29 that Warriors brass met with Kerr and planned to reconvene the following week, with “no resolution” nearly two weeks after Golden State’s season ended in Phoenix.
The Warriors’ own exit-interview recap also pointed to a roster in transition, noting that Golden State had 11 free agents entering the offseason and that players had shown support for Kerr as his contract situation loomed.
That makes Kuminga’s graceful tone more than just a polite quote. It is a reminder of how quickly Golden State’s world has shifted.
The Warriors moved on from a young lottery pick in Kuminga. Thompson is already in his second season away from the franchise. Kerr’s future is not settled. And Golden State is coming off a season that ended before the playoff bracket truly began.
Kuminga, meanwhile, sounded ready to keep building with Atlanta.
“You can’t determine the future,” Kuminga said, “so hopefully we all here back together.”
He added that if the Hawks return as a group, they can have “a great training camp” and “a better season.”
That is not a revenge quote. It is not a dramatic warning to the Warriors. It is a former Golden State player moving forward without burning the bridge behind him.
For Warriors fans, that may be the most revealing part.
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