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Since Jonathan Kuminga stepped into the league, the Warriors coaching staff has pushed him to do the little things: defend, rebound, run the floor, and let scoring come within the flow of the offense.
Just because Kuminga’s three-month contract stalemate is over — he’s back on a one-year deal starting at $22.5 million, with an additional team option for another year — doesn’t change that.
Kuminga, 22, has at times committed to head coach Steve Kerr’s vision. He has at times scored at elite levels and looked poised to turn the corner on his career. Too often, though, he has settled for too many midrange jump shots, been caught napping off the ball defensively, and failed to make an impact on the boards.
The wing is expected to rejoin the team for training camp Thursday in San Francisco. Then or in the succeeding days, Kerr wants to sit down with him and make sure they’re on the same page.
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“The first thing is a great conversation with JK,” Kerr said after Wednesday’s training camp practice. “To me, at the heart of any good team culture is communication. We have to have a really good sit-down. He and I have always gotten along well. There’s never been any issues on a personal front for us. It’s just about fit, it’s just about what we need, it’s about how he sees himself and how we see him. So that means we have to have a really good conversation before we start the season.”
Kuminga played some of the best basketball of his career in December, before a severe ankle sprain sidelined him for more than two months. When he returned, the Warriors were rolling with the newly acquired Jimmy Butler, who occupies similar spaces on the court.
With Butler on the floor and Kuminga not, the Warriors posted a 10.8 net rating. When they played together, that net rating dropped to -6.1. Kerr benched the team’s third-leading scorer in several huge games, including during the first-round series against the Rockets, before Steph Curry’s hamstring injury summoned him back into the rotation. Kuminga went on to average 20.8 points per game versus Minnesota in the Western Conference semifinals.
Especially with Butler back, the Warriors don’t need Kuminga to be a ball-dominant offensive player. They’ll run offense through Butler and Steph Curry, two of the best players in the league.
Kuminga’s now the fourth-highest paid player on the team, but Golden State — at full strength — will be at its best when he’s playing a smaller role than he desires.
“I’m happy for Jonathan,” Kerr said. “It may not be the contract he was hoping for, but that’s life-changing money. I’m really happy for him and his family. The whole idea is to help him get better, help him become the player he can become and sign a few more of those contracts. That’s what he has to focus on, and that’s what I have to focus on: getting better where he can help us. Because that’s really what’s been the thing that’s kind of helped him back, right? What we need versus what he wants to do. There’s no denying that that’s been an issue. And there’s no denying that there’s a place for him on this team. We don’t have a big, athletic wing player like he represents.”
On nights when Curry, Butler, or both are injured or need rest, that could change. Kerr intends to make that clear in their forthcoming conversation.
“JK, the more he can defend with activity, rebound, run the floor, the better chance he has to play,” Kerr said. “Everybody progresses at a different rate. Things can click. But those are the things I’m going to continue to ask of him. And I have no doubt, too, that there’s going to be times this year where we’ve got to get him the ball and run offense through him.”
Although Kerr and Kuminga haven’t had personal issues, Kuminga’s frustrations with his role over the years have occasionally made things uncomfortable. In 2024, Kuminga reportedly “lost faith” in the nine-time NBA champion. Kerr’s public comments about Kuminga’s fit with the team also got brought up during this summer’s restricted free-agency negotiations.
General manager Mike Dunleavy dismissed the contentious — and public — nature of this summer’s negotiations with Kuminga, saying they were “fair” and “reasonable.” The pragmatic executive said it seems like Kuminga had a good offseason, judging by the workout videos posted on social media.
Kuminga didn’t attend the Butler-led team bonding event last week in San Diego and missed the first two days of training camp. Dunleavy expects him to be ready to go and “committed,” echoing statements from the veterans on Media Day.
“We just want him to be the best player he can be,” Dunleavy said. “He does that, he’ll have a great role.”