Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green sent a strong message to Jonathan Kuminga as the young forward plans to return to the lineup on Thursday, March 13, against the Sacramento Kings, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“Jonathan is a hell of a player, and the team is playing great,” Green told reporters after their 114-102 win over the New York Knicks on March 4. “And lucky him that you get to come into a situation where the team is playing well rather than come into a situation where you’re trying to fix stuff. With that type of pressure, it sucks.
“So for him, you coming into a situation where the team is playing well — he’s a great player — so we’re not worried about how he fits, or what. That’s really fine. But I think, like I said, lucky for him, we’ve kind of stabilized the ship. He can come in and find this rhythm and add to what we’ve been doing, which is what we need.”
Reintegrating Kuminga to a team that is on a five-game winning streak and winners of 10 of their last 10 games is the most compelling question the Warriors have to answer heading into the homestretch.
“It’s a really difficult thing when you are playing really well and then you have a key guy coming back,” Kerr told reporters after they beat the Detroit Pistons on March 8. “It’s always tough so I think the idea is just bring him along slowly. Play him in short bursts. Help him get his rhythm back, but we’ve got to keep playing Gui Santos. We’ve got to keep playing the guys who are helping us win right now and so usually, this stuff has to kind of play out and so we’ll hope that it plays out.”
Jonathan Kuminga as Jimmy Butler’s Backup?
Kuminga is returning to a much different Warriors team that has been winning without him. The team’s makeup dramatically shifted during Kuminga’s 32-game absence primarily because of the arrival of six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline.
Butler is the player who the Warriors hoped Kuminga would become someday.
That’s why Kerr showed Kuminga clips of Butler’s plays with the Warriors as his case study for what his role would entail when he returns during a one-on-one meeting in Orlando last month.
“He’s the perfect guy for JK to emulate,” Kerr said, per The Athletic. “What makes Jimmy special is that he doesn’t try to be special. He plays fundamental basketball. He never turns it over. He just makes the simple play over and over. I want JK to learn some of that … attacking the rim, nothing there, jump stop, pass the ball. That’s a great basketball play. JK before he got hurt, it was the best I’ve ever seen him play. He was already on a great track. This was just a reminder that these are the things we want.”
Kerr plans to play Kuminga off the bench and in minutes restriction.
Warriors Vet Kept Jonathan Kuminga Accountable
While Kuminga was rehabbing his ankle, Green, the strongest Kuminga advocate within the team, made sure he was right on the schedule.
“Just just really keeping the spirit up, checking in on him every day,” Green said after beating the Knicks last week. “How are you doing? You know, where are you at? I think it’s important. And then also just making sure that he always feels like a part of the team.”
Green spoke from his personal experience being away from the team for so long in the past either due to injuries or league suspension.
“Man, when you’re hurt in the NBA, you do not feel like a part of the team,’ Green continued. “You’ve got these crazy schedules. You’re never with the team. … They’re going to the game like you’re never really with the team. And it’s tough because you spend most of your life with these same guys, and so just really trying to keep his spirits up, but then also checking in and making sure he’s getting his work done, but not always checking with him either, checking in with people around him, making sure that he’s on time. That he’s on top of his treatment, his rehab. He’s getting extra work in. He’s doing all the things that he can and his power to get back out there. And he has.”
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