Warriors Not Open to Trading Jonathan Kuminga

Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors have been making plenty of headlines the past few days. The third-year power forward has been having a solid season coming off the bench for the Warriors. However, it seems as if the relationship between he and Steve Kerr has soured. Now, there are many trade rumors going around involving Jonathan Kuminga. However, the team “loathes,” the idea of shipping off the young frontcourt player. If they do trade him, there will be plenty of teams around the NBA who will be interested in Kuminga.

Warriors “Loathe,” Idea of Trading Jonathan Kuminga

His Numbers This Season

Kuminga has been arguably having the best season of his career thus far. He is currently tallying numbers of 12.8 points, 4.1 total rebounds per game, and an effective field goal percentage of 53.8 percent. On top of this, Kuminga is also tallying a player efficiency rating of 14.6. His three-point shooting percentage has dipped to 27.3 percent this year, but some of that can be attributed to him having a larger role within the offense this season.

Last season, he shot 37.0 percent from beyond the arc. Kuminga has shown flashes of being a quality scoring option off the bench in spurts this year. As a result, his confidence has increased and the former seventh overall pick is beginning to realize his full potential. However, recent events have complicated Kuminga’s relationship with head coach, Steve Kerr, which has sparked the trade speculation.

Jonathan Kuminga Has Lost Faith in Head Coach, Steve Kerr

After a loss to the Denver Nuggets on January 5th , Jonathan Kuminga, reportedly “lost faith,” in Steve Kerr. In 19 minutes, he recorded 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists, but did not play at all in the final 18 minutes of the game. This was the game where Nikola Jokic hit the game-winner near halfcourt after the Nuggets crawled back from an 18-point deficit.

“He was playing great,” Kerr said of Kuminga after the game. “His normal time to go back in would have been around the five-, six-minute mark (of the fourth). (Andrew Wiggins) was playing great, we were rolling, were up 18, 19, whatever it was. So we just stayed with him. Then at that (later) point, it didn’t feel like the right thing to do. He had been sitting for a while. So I stayed with the group that was out there, and obviously, we couldn’t close it out.”

One source even said that the Thursday night matchup was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” in terms of Kuminga having faith in Kerr’s rotations. All in all, there seems to be trouble in paradise with the Golden State Warriors. If they lose Jonathan Kuminga, then they will be losing a valuable piece to their second unit. There are plenty of teams from around the league who will be interested in Kuminga if he does become available around the NBA Trade Deadline. With power forward, Draymond Green, now coming back from his suspension, Jonathan Kuminga’s minutes are something to monitor going forward considering recent circumstances.