The Warriors’ scripted rotation plan on Sunday had exactly zero minutes penciled in for Jonathan Kuminga.
The conditions of a game make any plan subject to change, but in a 124-119 overtime loss to the Clippers, head coach Steve Kerr stuck to the script. Kuminga got his first DNP of the season in Golden State’s biggest game of the year so far, one that sent them into the play-in round to face the Grizzlies.
Kerr’s public messaging has been hinting toward this direction. He has said that the Warriors’ offensive flow has been choppy for the past few weeks, which is when Kuminga returned from his severe ankle sprain. Kuminga’s fit in certain lineups, particularly alongside star Jimmy Butler, has been a problem. And in the highest-stakes contests, like Sunday’s finale to decide the sixth seed, every minute counts.
“When you get to these tight games, you tighten up your rotation and you play your guys, and you go for it,” Kerr said postgame.
Butler played 48 minutes. Brandin Podziemski played 43. Steph Curry and Draymond Green each logged 38 and Moses Moody played 30. It was essentially a playoff game, and the Warriors treated it as such, going with Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, Kevon Looney, and Quinten Post off the bench.
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Against the Clippers, those were the nine guys Kerr trusted.
“We just found a group since Jimmy got here that we’re pretty comfortable with,” Kerr said. “Gui (Santos) didn’t play, either. Gui’s been our highest plus-minus guy over the past two months. Both he and JK have been really impactful players for us. Doesn’t mean they’re out of the loop going forward, it’s just this is how this game played out.”
Kuminga, the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, declined to comment. Before Sunday, the last time he got a DNP-Coaches Decision was in the 2023 Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers.
Before the Butler trade that saved the Warriors’ season, Kuminga was playing the best basketball of his career. Handling a heavier playmaking role, he averaged 21.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 13 games before suffering a Grade 3 ankle sprain. He notched three 30-point games in that stretch, including in an impressive win over the Rockets without Curry and Green.
The Warriors have always wanted Kuminga to commit to defense and rebounding — to leverage his athleticism to impact winning — and he has done that for stretches this season. Golden State has 12 lineups that have outscored opponents by at least 10 points per 100 possessions, and Kuminga is a part of four of them.
But none of them are with Butler.
Kuminga and Butler have shared the floor for 125 minutes. The Warriors have a -6.8 net rating in such situations. The numbers get more dire when they add Green into the mix; that trio has been outscored by 26 points in 38 minutes.
That trio closed a pivotal win over the Lakers game last week alongside Curry and Podziemski. Kuminga registered 18 points and nine rebounds, helping swing the game.
Kuminga’s minutes have dwindled since. Shot-selection problems have cropped back up, as have mistakes as a help defender. Some off-ball cuts haven’t been as sharp, either. The ball sticks more when Kuminga is in the mix. Neither he nor Butler are consistent outside shooters, and they like to operate on similar places on the floor.
Butler thrived against the Clippers, rising to the occasion with 30 points and nine assists. As long as he’s healthy, there won’t be many opportunities at the backup wing position for Kuminga to sop up because of Butler’s ability to play heavy minutes.
The Warriors didn’t lose because of Kerr’s decision to bench Kuminga. A trio of Kris Dunn threes, a handful of loose balls the Warriors were too slow to, a late smoked layup by Green, and outstanding performances from Kawhi Leonard and James Harden decided the game.
At one point, Harden sauntered over to the Warriors’ bench and asked Kuminga why he wasn’t playing, per a source within earshot.
Kuminga is in his fourth season. In each one, he has had varying roles on the team, spanning from starter and even featured option to completely out of the rotation. Last year, shortly after getting benched in a close loss to the Nuggets, The Athletic reported that Kuminga had “lost faith” in Kerr. Although Kuminga’s raw talent has always been tantalizing, his fit in Kerr’s ball and player movement system has always been a concern.
The Warriors and Kuminga didn’t come close to agreeing to a contract extension this past offseason, according to sources, making him a pending restricted free agent. Kuminga didn’t demand a maximum level figure, per sources, and he likely won’t get anywhere near that this summer in restricted free agency.
None of that is particularly relevant for the Warriors. Kerr will call his number at some point, needing his athleticism and downhill threat in certain matchups. He has played well historically against the Lakers and Rockets, the latter of which Golden State would play in the first round with a play-in win Tuesday.
Curry has already said that for the Warriors to win at the highest level, they’ll need Kuminga to be a part of it. Against more athletic opponents in particular, he can be an asset. The Warriors need Kuminga to stay mentally locked in and ready for whenever his time comes.
“It’s the test of a young player in this league, and especially with our team,” Curry said. “You never know when your moment will be there…it wasn’t his time tonight. Against Memphis, it could be a game where he makes his presence felt. Don’t let noise outside the locker room, the attention that might come from it, distract you from your ability to make an impact when your number is called. You saw this summer [at the Olympics], DNPs all over the place, you’ve got to be able to be ready.”
Kerr has praised Kuminga’s attitude publicly and sources in the locker room have likewise noted the 22-year-old’s maturity. That’s not a uniform view; other sources described attitude or effort hiccups of late.
Work ethic has never been a problem for Kuminga. After Sunday’s loss to the Clippers, he went through a shooting and workout session for over an hour with his personal trainer, Anthony Wells, on the Chase Center floor.
The line from Kuminga’s camp has been to control what they can control.
Both Kerr and Curry have recently expressed frustration about the attention Kuminga — and his role — gets from the media and fans. Kerr said on April 4 that there shouldn’t be a referendum every night on Kuminga’s minutes. Curry said “we need to kind of just let this guy play basketball” instead of judging his every move.
But a DNP, in a game with as high stakes as the finale, is quite a spotlight.