ATLANTA — The night didn’t go how anybody planned in Jonathan Kuminga’s first game against the Warriors on Saturday at State Farm Arena.
Injuries to Steph Curry, Kristaps Porziņģis and about half of the Warriors’ roster already took air out of a balloon that’s ready to burst. A blowout loss only made it worse. And Kuminga’s performance also didn’t help the narrative one bit.
Kuminga played 22 minutes off the bench and didn’t score until late in the fourth quarter after missing his first eight attempts. The 23-year-old scored two points on 1-of-9 shooting, and was a minus-6 with four rebounds, two assists, two turnovers and three fouls.
After his Hawks crushed the Warriors in the second half and cruised to a 126-110 win, Kuminga’s sole focus was on the present and the future. Any talk of the past was a waste of every reporter’s breath.
An hour and a half before tipoff, however, Warriors coach Steve Kerr reflected on Kuminga’s tenure, from being the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to being traded to the Hawks the night before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline.
“I like Jonathan. We always got along,” Kerr said. “The basketball part was the hard part. We couldn’t quite offer him what he needed, and vice versa. We were a championship team. He needed, really, a lot of freedom and 35 minutes and to be able to make mistakes and learn, because he came in with very little experience. And we just couldn’t offer him that. Bottom line. … We offered him what we could, which was 25 minutes and maybe a role that he didn’t love, and it was never comfortable for either party on the basketball floor.
“On a personal level, he was great. He’s a really good guy, got along well. We had our fair share of conversations about basketball that, you know, we had our differences. But on a personal level, we all root for him here.”
Those words weren’t relayed to Kuminga before the game. They were in the locker room following his team’s win that handed the Warriors another rough loss.
What was most clear is how Kuminga is over talking about his Warriors past. Having to hear what Kerr said about him at a press conference from others. Having his game constantly under a microscope, in his eyes.
He has moved on, as have the Warriors.
“Hey man, whatever they say, you can take it however you want,” Kuminga said. “I’m not worried about the past. I’m here. I’m very happy where I’m at. We’re doing great, and our goal is to get whatever we want to get. That comes down to us as a team, and I think that’s just my main focus going forward throughout my whole career and throughout my time with my teammates here.
“So whatever is being said, whatever is going on, that’s not my problem anymore. I’m onto the next chapter with my teammates, and we’re trying to build something here.”
The Hawks won 11 straight games before losing to the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Beating the Warriors gave them 12 wins in their last 13 games and moved them to the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Kuminga said the hardest part of acclimating to a new team in the middle of a season is finding ways to seamlessly fit in. Fitting in also sounds like it’s coming second to winning, which the Hawks have done much more than the short-handed Warriors lately.
“The difference is just to come out here and try and fit, and I think that’s gone really well,” Kuminga said. “What’s most important right now is how can we stack wins game after game.”
Hugs, daps and handshakes were aplenty between Kuminga and his old teammates and coaches when the final buzzer rang. He and Kerr shared a very quick interaction and moved on without a word. The longest conversation he had with a Warrior, by far, was with Steph Curry.
Kuminga says he had fun playing against his old teammates. Draymond Green made Kuminga crack a smile when he first entered the game, but trash talk was left behind — mostly.
“Maybe with Gui [Santos],” Kuminga joked. “It was fun, I enjoyed playing those guys.”
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