SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors coach Steve Kerr has spent the past two months striking a diplomatic tone.
He has emphasized that he enjoys coaching Jonathan Kuminga – the subject of a lengthy summertime contract negotiation that saw the fifth-year forward’s agent publicly criticize Kerr’s coaching methods before helping Kuminga sign a two-year, $46 million deal – and sees him as an integral part of the team.
As Kuminga’s role and minutes have fluctuated, both Kerr and Kuminga have tried to convince the world that both sides are all-in on making the uneasy partnership work.
But sitting in the interview room after Wednesday’s practice, Kerr, for the first time this season, acknowledged the possibility that Kuminga could be traded after Jan. 15.
“You’d have to ask him, you know, for his feelings,” Kerr said. “I can imagine it’s not easy for him, and we’ve talked about the situation. My desire for JK is for him to become the best player he can possibly be, regardless of where he ends up, whether its here or elsewhere.”
After not playing a single minute during Sunday’s game in Chicago, Kuminga told reporters that he and Kerr had a good relationship, and that he was just happy to see the team win.
Kerr echoed that sentiment, and also took blame for how the situation – one that appears hurtling inevitably toward a trade – has unfolded.
It’s the combinations, the fit, all that stuff has been going on for a few years, and I’m not going to shy away from that. I think it’s pretty obvious,” Kerr said. “I do feel for him, that he has been sort of at the whim of my decision-making based on, you know, what I want to see out there from our team.”
After a stellar preseason, one where Kuminga defended and passed with gusto and generally played the way Kerr wanted the athletic wing to, he was a fixture in the starting lineup.
But while being in the first five for the team’s initial dozen games, Kuminga’s level of play deteriorated. He fell into old habits, holding the ball and taking ill-advised shots. But the Warriors also saw Steph Curry and Al Horford miss time during that stretch.
Kuminga was taken out of the starting lineup during the 13th game in San Antonio, and was felled with knee injury that sidelined him for seven games. Since returning, Kuminga has shot under 30% from the field, and was a healthy scratch for Chicago.
Now, Kuminga’s days with the team that drafted him No. 7 overall in 2021 appear to be numbered, something Kerr emphasized was normal.
“I tell my guys a lot, there are so few players who end up playing for one team their entire career,” Kerr said. “It rarely happens. I played for six different teams. None of us know what’s going to happen with JK, or pretty much any of our guys.”
Kerr said it was a normal part of NBA life.
“Its a really weird league and weird business to be in,” Kerr said. “You have to fully commit to the team that you’re playing for, knowing full well that team may trade you or cut you. That’s a really hard thing to reconcile as a player, but the sooner guys can recognize it, the better. The guys who end up playing for a long time sort of figure that out, and they understand that.”
Whether or not Kuminga, who is averaging 12.4 points per game, is traded is not up to the coach, though Kerr noted that he does have input on roster moves.
“(General manager) Mike (Dunleavy) and I are totally aligned, and he’s great at his job, and whatever decisions he makes, he will include me in the discussions, but it’s not my job,” Kerr said. “It’s his decision ultimately, and we both respect that.”
The Warriors’s next game is on Friday against Minnesota, the team Kuminga torched in last year’s playoffs.
Kerr did not rule out the possibility of Kuminga playing.
“He had a great practice today, and we had a talk before practice, and he did the things I asked him to do and was I was thrilled about that,” Kerr said. “I think there’s a lot of young players, not just JK, lots of young players around the league who have to find themselves and figure out who they are as a player.”
