CHICAGO – Sitting at his locker deep within Chicago’s United Center, with teammate Quinten Post to his left, a half-dozen reporters in front of him and zero minutes played on the night, Jonathan Kuminga assured everyone who would listen that everything was fine.
Being a healthy scratch for the Warriors’ blowout victory over the hapless Bulls a mere 24 hours after starting against the Cavaliers?
No big deal, Kuminga asserted. After all, the rest of the rotation did just fine without him, so he could not complain.
“But you know, as long as things are working out here and we’re winning, I don’t see the point of switching anything, changing,” Kuminga said. “So, whenever my number gets called, I’ll be ready. I don’t see the point. Because we’re doing good, and we’ve been doing good.”
Regardless of how Kuminga characterized the benching, it became just another chapter in Kuminga’s topsy-turvy Warriors career, another time longtime coach Steve Kerr decided to go away from the forward with rocket booster athleticism and shaky shot selection.
Kerr said that his pregame conversation with Kuminga – the exact reason he gave the 23-year-old – would remain “private.”
Kuminga was not much more forthcoming, only offering up that Kerr told him that the team was “going the other way, and just switching certain things.”
Kuminga asserted there were no hard feelings between the coach and the player whose agent, Aaron Turner, publicly criticized Kerr during a summertime restricted free agency saga that saw Kuminga eventually sign a two-year contract with a team option.
“We have a good relationship,” Kuminga said. “We get to talk and figure out things. We don’t have any problems. I don’t have any problems. Things just didn’t go my way today. I’m going to stay happy, stay locked in, stay focused into the next one.”
Kerr abruptly dropped Kuminga from the rotation at the end of last season, the forward only receiving spot minutes against the Rockets in the first round before being thrust into a starring scoring role against the Timberwolves and averaging over 20 points per game.
“At the end of the day, I’ve just got to be a professional,” Kuminga said. “Because things happen, and it’s happened before and it’s happening now. Nothing is going to change certain things, but just staying positive.”
Kerr cited a desire to get high-energy forward Gui Santos in the rotation, plus Jimmy Butler’s return to the starting lineup, for the benching.
Despite Kuminga being the fourth-highest player on the team at $23 million a year, he does not enjoy the untouchable starting status that Butler, Steph Curry and Draymond Green share.
“He’s just got to keep going. Just like everybody else who is in this position,” Kerr said. “It happens to everybody other than the stars, coming in and out of the rotation depending on who is available, how the team’s playing.”
It is difficult to argue with recent results.
Kuminga began the preseason and season seemingly a new player, happy to make the extra pass, allergic to overdribbling and eager to defend and rebound. The shot-happy ballstopper was nowhere to be seen.
But after two strong weeks, Kuminga’s play began to decline as he fell back into old habits. Wild drives that became turnovers. Mind-boggling 3-pointers from a career 33% shooter.
Then, after being taken out of the starting lineup following the team’s first dozen games, Kuminga was struck down with a sore knee.
Ever since his return, he has been ineffective at best, and a net negative at worst. He has shot 12 of 40 in four games, turning the ball over eight times. He was 1-for-10 in Saturday’s win in Cleveland, but Kuminga was adamant he was not being affected by a gimpy knee.
“My number can get called any time, so I’ve got to believe in my game, and I feel good about my game,” he said.
The advanced numbers, such as box plus-minus (-4.6 this season), value over replacement player (-0.3) also paint him as a player who does not help the team.
Through the first 25 games of the season, the metrics and the eye test show what has been apparent for several years now. Kuminga is an uneasy on-court fit with the Warriors.
A breakup could come as soon as Jan. 15, when Kuminga is eligible to be traded. A fresh start could be for the best.
But the numbers can say whatever they want. While Kerr chose to go away from Kuminga, the player said he still has the support and faith of his teammates for as long as he is in the Bay Area.
The older crop of players have also come out in support of Kuminga. Most recently, with Kuminga sitting just a few feet away, Butler declared that he had his teammate’s back.
“I tell him, come spend some days with me, because basketball is much more than just a game,” Butler said. “Come lose at Uno, come work out … your time is going to come. He knows that. I’m 36 years of age, I’m going to miss another game or two, and then his number is going to be called.”
Kerr, Butler and most importantly, Kuminga all agreed that his “number” will be called.
It just might be a while.