SAN FRANCISCO — Sixty-five minutes before tipoff, Jonathan Kuminga stood at his locker after running pregame sprints across the Warriors’ training-room floor in the Chase Center. As he warmed up, ESPN reported that the Warriors were bringing him off the bench even though they had Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton unavailable.
Kuminga said he hadn’t yet talked face-to-face with Steve Kerr about the decision.
“It’s his decision,” Kuminga said. “I’m not the coach. If Steve’s made his decision, he’s made his decision. I’m not the coach.”
Kuminga said he’s “not tripping” about coming off the bench, but that there is growing skepticism within Kuminga’s camp about Kerr’s commitment to featuring the wing in Golden State’s offense.
Just three games into the season, after Kuminga’s camp and the Warriors couldn’t strike a deal on a rookie extension, tensions are bubbling between the two sides.
Negotiations never gained serious traction between the Warriors and Kuminga before the rookie extension deadline. The Warriors valued in-season flexibility that would’ve disappeared had they extended Kuminga. Kuminga’s camp wasn’t hard-lined at the max-contract, but never received offers they deemed market value, per sources.
On Tuesday night, Kerr declined to announce a starting lineup in his pregame press conference. When asked directly if Kuminga would start, he said, “Possibly.”
Kerr then didn’t have to answer questions pregame about his starting lineup of Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis. It appears the Warriors prioritized Moody’s 3-point shooting over Kuminga’s downhill threat, as well as keeping the continuity of Green and Jackson-Davis together.
Choosing to bring Kuminga off the bench against New Orleans is a surprising decision from the coaching staff. With Curry, Wiggins and Melton each ruled out with injuries, the game shaped up one in which the Warriors would need to feature Kuminga heavily on offense. He averaged 16.1 points per game last season and is arguably Golden State’s most naturally gifted scorer.
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Kuminga has struggled to start the season, though. Through the first three games of the season, he’s averaging 8.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game. The big lineup with Kuminga playing small forward next to two non-shooting bigs hasn’t yet complemented his game, and the 12-man rotation Kerr is using has trimmed down his minutes.
“I don’t ever worry about a small sample size like that,” Kerr said of Kuminga. “JK had a really good preseason, he’ll come around. We’re going to need his force, his athleticism. Tonight could be a big night for him in that regard, depending on how the game plays out. We’ve obviously played 12 people each game, which means it’s going to be a little harder for guys individually to find their rhythm, because they’re not playing as much. I’m not worried about JK at all. He’ll come around.”
Kuminga answered questions in a professional manner at his locker before the game, repeating that he’s not the coach and the decision is out of his hands.He said he’s just here to play when asked if he has a preference between starting or coming off the bench; he started 46 of 74 games played last year.
He also described the start to his season as “decent.”
“You’re not just going to come out of the gate and be perfect every time,” Kuminga said. “You’re trying to figure out things, trying to figure out new people, the way we’re playing. Different offense, different sets. So, just got to figure it out.”
The relationship between Kerr and Kuminga is one to watch. Last season, after Kerr benched Kuminga for the final 18 minutes of a loss to Denver, The Athletic reported that Kuminga “lost faith” in his coach.
Now, less than a week into the season, the two have some sorting out to do.
“I’m used to — this is my fourth year,” Kuminga said. “This isn’t the first time things like that happened. Like I said, I’m not the coach, that’s his decision. We’ll roll with his decision.”