Jonathan Kuminga Has Cryptic Response on Warriors’ Steve Kerr

In the days ahead of the first game that former Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, now an Atlanta Hawk after last month’s trade, played against his old team, Steve Kerr has done his best to be diplomatic. Kerr has taken the brunt of the blame for what went wrong with Kuminga, and he has acknowledged that he was unable to thread the needle between competing for championships and developing Kuminga as a player.

Kerr made a point to say that, even as he benched Kuminga because he struggled to find a role for him, he liked and got along with Kuminga personally. He was careful, too, to say he hopes that Kuminga thrives in Atlanta.

On Saturday after the showdown, Kuminga was less enthusiastic. For him, it seems, the Warriors remain the team that drafted him No. 7 overall in 2021, and chose to keep him on the bench rather than let him develop on the floor, then tried to lowball him in restricted free agency before finally trading him away.

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Jonathan Kuminga ‘Not Worried About the Past’ With Warriors

It’s worth noting that Kuminga was 1-for-9 shooting for just two points and two turnovers on Saturday, in a Hawks win. It was the kind of showing the Warriors felt they could not afford from Kuminga, who had some dazzling highs in Golden State but was frustratingly inconsistent, any longer.

When asked about Kerr’s comments about the two getting along personally, Kuminga was not playing along, and was not about to say anything nice about the coach he feels thwarted him.

“Listen, whatever they say, you can take it however you want it,” Kuminga said. “I am not worried about the past. I’m here. I’m very happy right now. Doing great. And our goal is to get whatever we’re going to get and that comes up to us as a team. That’s just my main focus for us going forward. …

“Whatever is being said, whatever is going on, that’s not a problem anymore. You know I am into my next chapter with my team, we’re trying to build something here.”

 

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Jonathan Kuminga Still Has a Bond With Draymond Green

Kuminga did discuss the long conversation he had with “my guy,” injured Warriors star Stephen Curry, as well as a bit of trash talk with Gui Santons. He also was asked about Draymond Green, who brought a big smile to Kuminga’s face when Kuminga checked into the game.

“That’s my guy, that’s my OG, me and Draymond’s connection, it’s always there. The brotherhood is always there. We were just catching up,” Kuminga said.

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Warriors Reunion Was ‘Fun’

That was the case throughout the night, and despite his poor performance, Kuminga described the night as, “fun.”

“It felt like a normal game,” he said. “Just excited to see some of my old teammates and some of my guys out there. It was great, I was happy to see them. Former teammates, showing each other love and hugs, and we all miss each other. I haven’t seen them and they haven’t seen me in a minute. So we were just dabbing each other and chopping it up. …

“It was fun. It was fun going out there and playing against those guys and I am going to be seeing them a lot, time keeps going. So, it was fun actually, I enjoyed going out there with these guys.”

 

 

 

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney