From being the face of the Golden State Warriors "two timelines" plans to being out of the rotation in the most important point of their season, Jonathan Kuminga has been through all ups and downs during his tenure in the Bay Area. The most recent downturn, however, was somewhat surprising: coming off a 2023-24 season where he averaged a career-high 16.1 points on 52.9 FG%, Kuminga was out of the rotation for the Warriors last game of the season against the Los Angeles Clippers, a 119-124 overtime loss that put the Dubs in the Play-In, the subsequent Play-In game against the Memphis Grizzlies, and for four of the seven games of their first round series against the Houston Rockets.
Kuminga was continuing where he left off the previous season for the first three and a half months of this season, averaging 16.8 points on 45.9 FG% and 34.5 3P% (a career-high) over their first 32 games. But, an ankle injury in the team's second game of January sidelined him until mid-March, by which point the team had acquired Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline and was in the midst of a 10-1 stretch. While he would continue to contribute off the bench, his playing time wasn't the same. For reference, after playing at least 25 minutes in 21 of his first 32 games before the January injury, he only surpassed the 25 minute mark in 3 of the team's last 17 games.
As Golden State's season comes to a close, Logan Murdock of The Ringer has revealed that it was due to his play style, and how it clashed with how they wanted the team to play
Reason for Jonathan Kuminga's benching by Warriors revealed
According to Murdock, Kuminga's tendency to play one-on-one, taking away from the constant ball and player movement that has characterized the Warriors dynasty for the last decade, has "irked" the coaching staff. He noted that in the Warriors second to last game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers (a 103-86 win where Kuminga scored 10 points on 2-7 field goal shooting and 6-8 at the free throw line), "Kerr was incensed after several instances in which Kuminga looked off Curry to create his own offense". While that didn't harm the Warriors in this game, it could've caused Kerr concerns in the long run, given how great the team looked since the Butler acquisition.
Adding on to this, it doesn't help that the player they acquired to fill his spot in the starting lineup, Butler, plays in a similar way to Kuminga, in that they both prefer to attack in the mid-post, like to get to the rim, and aren't the best three-point shooters. Thus, having two of those players on the court, particularly when Kuminga needs the ball in his hands and it comes at the expense of others, wasn't an ideal scenario in Kerr's mind.
While it's surprising given how well he was playing prior to his injury, it isn't that surprising considering how inconsistently he's been featured over his Warriors tenure. Murdock notes that while he's viewed favorably by ownership, "he's been unable to earn the consistent trust of the coaching staff".
That was clear in their first-round series against the Rockets, a series where, in spite of desperately needing an offensive spark (after averaging 113.8 points during the regular season, they only scored over 110 in one game), Kerr didn't put Kuminga on the floor. He got back in the rotation in a big way in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves, playing all five games and averaging 24.3 points on 55.4 FG% and 38.9 3P% over the last four, including a 30-point outing in Game 2. However, all of that was without a Stephen Curry to look off of, as he suffered a hamstring sprain in Game 1.
This all puts Kuminga's future with the team in a limbo. He was great in the postseason against a great defense when his team needed someone to deliver. But, his coach doesn't like the fit with his star players, all over 35-years-old. He isn't viewed as an integral piece of their win-now plans, but could prove worthwhile if they decide to rebuild when their current run is over. And a decision on his future will have to made in the summer where he's a restricted free agent and will likely be commanding over $20 million a year.