Just a couple of months ago, Jonathan Kuminga had “lost faith” in coach Steve Kerr, who was stubbornly leaning into a veteran core when it was clear changes needed to be made.
What a difference a couple of months make. By the end of January, Kerr had permanently moved Kuminga into the starting lineup (along with Brandin Podziemski), and he has thrived — in his last 10 games, Kuminga is averaging 20.9 points a night, shooting 35.3% from 3, grabbing 5.4 rebounds a night, and bringing much-needed athleticism to the front court.
Kuminga’s attitude has changed as well, as he told Monty Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“I would love to just be one of the Warriors for life — and just never change,” Kuminga, sitting at Chase Center, said on the latest episode of “Dubs Talk”…
“I did not lose faith of being here; it’s not what I said,” Kuminga said. “It was just definitely to a point where I felt like I need to be [on the court]. I felt like I could help. I felt like there was just so much left on the table where I felt like me and the young guys could go out there and help Steph, Klay and Draymond.
“And, obviously, since that happened, we got a chance to have the young guys on the floor. And having the young guys on the floor and everybody playing is helping us win games, with everybody getting better every other day.”
Kuminga and Kerr are on the same page now and that is making the Warriors more of a postseason threat (although, as things stand, they will have to fight their way out of the play-in to even make the playoffs).
Making Kuminga a “Warrior for life” will come down to paying the man. He is in the third year of his rookie deal and is extension eligible this summer, although the team has his rights and can wait and even send him to restricted free agency in the summer of 2025 if it wants to.
The Warriors face a number of big financial decisions this summer: Do they bring back Klay Thompson (yes!) and at what number? Do they re-sign Chris Paul, and again for how much and how long? The Thompson/Paul questions — particularly the years on those deals — impact Kuminga because for the 2025-26 season (when his next contract would kick in) the Warriors are already paying Stephen Curry $59.6 million, Andrew Wiggins $28.2 million, and Draymond Green $25.9 million. If Thompson is making around $25 million (a fair ballpark number), that’s $138.7 million and most of the room under the salary cap for four players. While the Warriors will have Kuminga’s Bird rights and can pay him whatever, the luxury tax and its aprons become a concern.
Whether Kuminga will be a Warrior for life may be debatable, but after his emergence in the past couple of months, there is no way the team will let him go after his first contract. Kerr has bought in and the Warriors will keep Kuminga in the Bay Area for the foreseeable future. Which is all Kuminga can ask for at this point.
Source link: https://sports.yahoo.com/jonathan-kuminga-now-says-love-165808177.html
