Jonathan Kuminga has gotten off to a flying start with the Atlanta Hawks , averaging 21.3 points on an eye-popping 67.7 percent shooting, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in only 26.7 minutes a game. While Hawks fans have been gloating over their team's acquisition of the young and talented 23-year-old, the Golden State Warriors are struggling to keep their heads above water.
With a 31-30 record, the Los Angeles Clippers nipping at their heels for the eighth seed, and Stephen Curry still a long way away from possibly returning to the lineup, the Warriors are losing grip on this season, potentially wasting away another year of Curry's prime.
Taking all that into consideration, Kendrick Perkins surmised that the Warriors' trade-deadline move of sending Kuminga to the Hawks for an oft-injured Kristaps Porzingis was too hasty and shortsighted.
According to Perkins, everyone in the Warriors' franchise knew how much upside the 6'8" forward possessed. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the team's head coach, Steve Kerr, to give him a legitimate spot on the rotation.
"They gave up on this man too soon," Perkins said on "Road Trippin'."
"All of us knew Kuminga had a high ceiling. Steph knew it. Draymond knew it. Jimmy Butler knew it," he continued. "The only person who didn't believe was Steve Kerr."
The rift between Kerr and Kuminga had been a hot topic for several seasons, especially when the former benched the latter late in the regular season and only put him back in the rotation after Curry injured his hamstring in the playoffs. This season offered more of the same as Kuminga appeared to have gained enough favor from Kerr to be named to the starting five, only to be relegated to the bench once again after 12 games.
Perkins argued that the mark of a true coaching great is the ability to work with the personnel at hand and make the necessary adjustments to maximize their potential. Kerr, he believed, had fallen short in this regard with Kuminga.
"When you think about legendary coaches — Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle — they adjusted to the new generation. All I'm saying is this: You couldn't find a way to be a dog whisperer in the NBA? Wrap your arm around Kuminga, make him feel the love, and get on the same page?" Perkins said. "You couldn't adjust the system just a little to get the best out of one of the most athletic players in the league? That makes no sense."
The show's co-host, Richard Jefferson , argued against Perkins' take, saying there's plenty of blame to go around and that it shouldn't all be piled on Kerr.
Jefferson contended that everyone on the Warriors knew how talented Kuminga is; the issue was that his skill set didn't fit the Curry-centric system Kerr had in place, which meant a lot of ball and off-ball movement and few isolation plays.
"If you're on Golden State, they want to win a certain way. If you're on Atlanta, they're like, 'Show us what you can do.' That's a very different attitude," Jefferson said. "Again, we know who Kuminga is. He just didn't fit the system."
"Russell Westbrook is a Hall of Famer — one of the greatest point guards of all time — but the team didn't fit when it was him, LeBron, and AD. It just didn't match. That doesn't diminish anyone. Kuminga just didn't fit the motion-style offense they run," he continued. "He wanted to be something else, and it just clashed."
While being a role player worked well for Jefferson early in his career, he said the development of his game meant he outgrew that role and wanted to spread his wings a little more — something he couldn't do with the Warriors, who were seeking to give Curry one more shot at winning another ring.
"It just wasn't an acceptance of a role. He outgrew his role, but Steph was still the focal point. He might average 20. He might become an All-Star, maybe even a multiple-time All-Star," he stated. "But it's not all on him, and it's not all on the Warriors. It just didn't match up."
Optics are everything in the NBA, and at the moment, it just doesn't look good for the Dubs. Kuminga is absolutely hooping right now, while Porzingis has played just one game for the Warriors and is out indefinitely due to an undisclosed illness.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
