There is time for the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga to find an arrangement that satisfies both, but the clock on their mutual desires is fast approaching JK’s jersey number: 00.
Their arranged marriage, distinguished more by turbulence than compatibility, lurched past its fourth anniversary last week. The growing belief around the NBA is they will wobble into Year 5, which would be the uneasiest by far.
On one side, the Warriors will be trying to harmonize a squad capable of squeezing one more drop of glory from the Stephen Curry era, which lifted the franchise to global icon status.
On the other side, Kuminga wants to prove he is a star and, therefore, worthy of a star’s contract, and his disposition will be monitored more closely than his statistics and impact.
The two sides have spent four seasons trying to make something of mismatched methods. Kuminga is a terrific scoring soloist, capable of getting to his spots and attacking the rim like a young Kawhi Leonard, but Golden State’s offense is designed to operate as an ensemble, with Curry as the conductor. That won’t change. Nor should it, as Curry continues to play at All-Star level.
Though a sign-and-trade deal remains a remote possibility, all indications are Kuminga will have to postpone his dreams of a life-changing payday.
“There will be some teams with money next year,” one Western Conference executive tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “Kuminga might have to just have to ride this out one more year and see what happens. It might come to fruition. Maybe he becomes more like ‘the guy’ there. There are people who believe he should play more, that he should do this more or do that more.
“But you still got Steph there. You got Jimmy (Butler) there.”
A fifth year of Warriors-Kuminga matrimony would invite all manner of vulture curiosity, as both parties will be under the brightest, and sometimes harshest, of lights. The Warriors are willing to move on, and Kuminga is eager to do the same. Living emotionally separate under the same roof, sharing the same locker room is bound to present, um, challenges.
The skills of Golden State coach Steve Kerr and the team’s veteran leaders – Draymond Green, Butler and Curry – will be tested. Can they orchestrate successful alchemy? Can Kuminga suppress his personal desires for the sake of the team? Can the Kerr-Kuminga coexistence maintain a peaceful, productive coexistence?
Kuminga wants to be a starter. That role was available last season, when he started the first three games at small forward, with Green at power forward and Andrew Wiggins at shooting guard. Butler now is entrenched at small forward since the February trade that sent Wiggins to Miami. The Warriors gained a playmaker but lost spacing. Kerr won’t tolerate the clogged spacing that would come with a Green-Kuminga-Butler frontcourt, so that option is out.
“He’s a (scoring) monster at the four,” a former NBA player-turned-analyst, referring to Kuminga, tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “But that’s Draymond position. I hate Draymond’s game. Hate his game. But his IQ makes him a Hall of Famer. It’s through the roof. And that team needs it.”
Green’s defense and court savvy were as much a part of Golden State’s 2014-15 resurrection as the gravity generated by Curry’s presence. Andrew Bogut and Green made the same impact on defense that Klay Thompson and Curry did on offense. The result was the best team in the NBA.
“They had a top-five offense, and a top-five defense,” the executive recalls. “And they were smart. The smartest team in the league. Back then, they were just smarter than you. With Jonathan, I think they’re questioning that. And they have Jimmy, Steph and Draymond, probably three of the smartest guys out there.”
Kuminga’s poor 3-point shooting (30.5 percent) makes him a misfit as a three in the Warriors’ system, but his greatest sins in the book of Kerr are mental errors. Those liabilities sometimes offset his assets. It’s one of the quickest ways in the league to fracture trust among coaches and teammates.
Is there any doubt that one glaring mistake by Kuminga will intensify the scrutiny and raise the temperature of the marriage?
At no point during these four seasons has Kuminga risen to the level of “distraction” to the greater goals of the Warriors. Even when displeased with circumstances, JK generally puts his head down and comes to work – even when he’s out of the rotation. Team leaders do what they can to keep him engaged.
But if the marriage continues into a fifth season, after a summer of unmet hopes for both parties, tranquility for all parties will be hard to achieve. A divorce is not a matter of if, but when.
Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast
