Jonathan Kuminga has a simple answer for the grand and pressing question of the Warriors’ summer: Why did he dye his hair a shining golden hue? Is this a gleaming statement about his mood? An ode to Dennis Rodman? A hint about current contract requests?
No, none of that. He just got a little bored. Maybe a lot bored.
“Just trying something, you know?” Kuminga said Thursday after a workout at Chase Center. “It’s been a long summer. Sometimes, the longer the summer is, the more you get bored. Just try different things. I think that’s what it is.”
Kuminga said this with a wry smile and, to report this as accurately as possible, with his hair growing a bit dark — as the dye wears off, it is getting less Rodman- or Joe Burrow-esque. Frankly, Kuminga’s hair looked almost orange, as opposed to recent pictures on social media that showcased an electric tint.
The subtler look suited Kuminga’s mood. He was relaxed, fairly talkative, and, as always, confident about himself and his NBA future. Maybe he let his hair color do the talking for a few months there, but Kuminga was comfortable doing actual talking Thursday.
[To listen to the entire conversation, click here for “The TK Show” episode.]
I asked: Do you feel different with golden hair?
“Not really,” he said. “Feel about the same.”
In many ways, Kuminga, only 21 and going into his fourth NBA season, is in a familiar situation. With Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins ahead of him in the forward spots, Kuminga probably isn’t penciled in for more than 20 to 24 minutes a game. Presumed to be a budding star during his draft process in 2021, Kuminga still doesn’t have a set, full-time role on this team. He hasn’t broken through in this league, though his athletic ability and desire to be great have never been in doubt.
Three seasons as an understudy is about the most any future star has ever endured or needed. If Kuminga doesn’t leap ahead this season, the league might get tired of waiting.
With the Warriors set to get back together Sept. 30 for Media Day at Chase, then fly to Hawaii for training camp and the opening of preseason, there’s little doubt that Kuminga understands the true timeline.
“Just going out there and pretty much helping us win,” Kuminga said when asked how he’s thinking about this season. “Me, personally, just showing how much I improved on so many things. And just looking forward to having a great season. Now that I’m used to it, now that I know what it is, now that I know what it takes to be one of the best, I mean, I went through the summer, worked hard, and I know what I’m going to bring to the table. I’m just looking forward to a new season.”
What if he doesn’t break into the starting lineup, though?
“I’m not thinking about that right now,” he said. “But I’m working toward it. The goal is me being a full starter. So I’m not even worried about what’s going to happen, because I know how much work I’ve put in. And I know once I step on that floor, things are going to change.”
Coach Steve Kerr has a clear explanation about what he needs to see from Kuminga to consider him as a full-time starter. Kerr wants Kuminga to be a better decision-maker on offense, to play faster, and to shoot the 3-pointer more reliably than his 32.1% last season.
More simply, with Draymond Green locked into the power-forward spot and other candidates ready to get minutes there, Kerr wants Kuminga to be a true small forward.
“I’ve always been a small forward, my whole life,” Kuminga said. “And I don’t have a position at this point, because I feel like … when I go back in the summer, I work on everything. Because I’m a small forward, but I could play any position, so I never just define myself as small forward.”
So he’ll shoot the 3 better this season?
“I’m definitely confident,” Kuminga said. “And I just can’t wait to go out there and show people what I’ve been working on and stuff. I mean, it’s always my thing to just work on certain things and get better. And I feel like shooting 3s, I’ve gotten so much better shooting.”
Even if Kerr isn’t convinced that Kuminga can play large minutes at small forward, Kuminga can get into the starting lineup alongside Draymond and Wiggins — if the coach commits to a small lineup that moves Draymond into the center spot ahead of Trayce Jackson-Davis or Kevon Looney. Kuminga and Wiggins were awful in tandem for stretches last season, but later, when Kerr played all three together, things started to click.
“Draymond’s always going to be Draymond,” Kuminga said. “I could play with Draymond. I could play with anybody. So I don’t see anybody being in my way, because I feel like we could all be on the floor at the same time.”
As long as he doesn’t project into a clear full-time role, Kuminga probably won’t land the mega deal from the Warriors he is almost certainly expecting as a former first-round pick heading into his fourth season. Franz Wagner, picked eighth, one slot behind Kuminga in the 2021 draft, recently signed a five-year, $224 million deal with Orlando. Scottie Barnes, picked three slots ahead of Kuminga, signed the same max deal. It’s hard to imagine that Kuminga would sign anything significantly lower. So what happens if there’s no deal by the Oct. 31 deadline, and he’s set to hit restricted free agency next summer?
“I haven’t really got into it that much,” Kuminga said. “I don’t want to step my foot off track. I’m focusing on how can I be great? How can I help something? The better you play, the more you do things, everything’s going to open up itself. So I’m not worried about things like that because I know who I am, I know myself. At the end of the day, it’s just having an opportunity, a chance to go out there and prove. And just waiting for the moment. It’s God’s plan, so I’m not even tripping or thinking about it day to day. Whenever it happens, it’s going to happen.
“Everybody’s got their time when God opens their doors. My door isn’t open yet. At some point it’s going to be open. Obviously soon or anytime, I know they’re going to be open. If you look at what other people are getting or doing or having, it’s going to slow you down. So I’m not trying to slow down. Try to keep doing what I always do, you know?”
Will that door open for him with the Warriors and keep him here in the long term?
“I mean, who knows? I would love to,” Kuminga said. “It’s God’s plan. I don’t know my future. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I would love for it to be open with the Warriors. But like I said, I don’t know my destiny. So whatever happens, it’s going to happen.”
The Kerr question
Much of Kuminga’s near-term future, of course, is tied to his occasionally spotty relationship with Kerr, who at times has been reluctant to thrust such an inconsistent player into a major role. But at other times, Kerr has pushed Kuminga forward as a shining part of the Warriors’ present and future.
The two seemed to find a balance in the middle of last season, and that has held up. They’re not buddy-buddy, but they’re fine together.
“Me and him — this is one thing I learned growing up, I feel like you wouldn’t fight with anybody if you don’t like them,” Kuminga said. “I feel like me and Steve’s relationship is good. That’s why … we don’t fight, none of that, it’s just that he’s always hard on me because he sees what I probably don’t see. And he wants better for me. I’m excited to be coached under him again for my fourth year. And help him reach his … he needs like 39 more games to [break the late Alvin Attles’ franchise record of 557 coaching victories]. … I mean, I can’t wait. I have been talking with him, just seeing where he’s at. I’ve been checking on him, he’s been checking on me. He’s just excited to have me here and to coach me again.”
The Warriors likely had opportunities to package Kuminga in a trade last offseason, possibly to the Clippers for Paul George before he was traded to Philadelphia, and possibly to Utah before the Jazz extended Lauri Markkanen. The Warriors definitely could’ve put Brandin Podziemski into either of those deals too.
For Kuminga, that was a larger sign that general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., who drafted Podziemski in 2023 and was assistant GM when Kuminga was drafted, is backing his young players.
“I feel like Mike believes in us,” Kuminga said. “There’s not too many people who are going to believe in young players, but I feel like Mike believes in the young guys he drafted, the young guys he’s been around and watched their process, how they’re growing and how they’re going to fit with some of the vets we have. I mean, it’s a blessing to still be here. I’m always thankful to be around and Mike having trust in us.
“But obviously I feel like he didn’t make a bad choice. I see Brandin working, I see Moses [Moody], I see myself, I see Trayce, and I feel like the more we stick together, we have a great future.”
The young guys, though, know exactly who leads the way for the Warriors. It’s the same guy who’s led the way since the 2009 draft and through four championship runs and, just this summer, made monumental 3-pointers in Team USA’s semifinal victory over Serbia and gold-medal game over France in the Paris Olympics.
That’d be Stephen Curry, of course.
“The things he does, you never know,” Kuminga said. “That man could go 0 for 60 in the first half, second half he could go 60 for 60. It was incredible. And it was a big part of them pulling out that gold medal.
“I always appreciate just watching him, sharing time on the court with him and just being around. Because once [the greats are] not playing anymore, who are we going to be watching? So just seeing him doing the things he does at his age, it’s incredible, man.”
And what does the 36-year-old Curry do that gives Kuminga hope for what’s possible for the Warriors this season?
“We all follow his footsteps,” Kuminga said. “If you see one of the oldest guys in the NBA on your team still producing at that level, you might as well be inspired, you know? … That just inspires you to be great. Inspires the whole team to help him.”
The more we talked, the more I picked up on a new Kuminga vibe. Or at least the vibe he had Thursday, with the burnt-orange hair and just a few days left of the offseason.
He was more upfront than I’ve seen before. He sure looked like he was ready to be more of an immediate emotional presence in the Warriors’ locker room and on court. I asked: Do you plan to be more vocal now?
“That’s my objective — I’m trying to work my way to be a leader at some point,” Kuminga said. “It starts slowly. I feel like I can do it, and I feel like I’m working toward it.
“Just being around Draymond. Learning how, just being more vocal and just being a leader. Just watching a couple leaders. And I feel like I can do it. That’s who I see myself one day becoming. Becoming a leader, becoming a man that people are going to follow. As of right now, I’m just stacking it up slowly and just following their footsteps.”
Those are some immense footsteps to follow. Who knows if Kuminga, Podziemski, Jackson-Davis, and Moody — and whoever else the Warriors acquire over the next few years — can replace Klay Thompson and help Curry and Draymond back to the top.
Who knows if any of these young players can be leading lights once the legends are gone. But Kuminga has always had the talent to do it. He’s shown it here and there over the last three seasons. He’s spent long enough in the background. And when you see Kuminga in the next few weeks, even if the gold dye really fades out, you won’t be able to miss him.