Warriors to turn to Jonathan Kuminga after Jimmy Butler's season-ending injury?
On "Dubs Talk," Bonta Hill and Monte Poole discuss the news of Jimmy Butler's season-ending ACL injury, and if the Warriors will turn to Jonathan Kuminga.
Warriors to turn to Jonathan Kuminga after Jimmy Butler's season-ending injury? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
Somebody asked last night, "Does this open up the possibility for Jonathan Kuminga?
The rotation?"
And Steve said, "Yeah, it's very possible."
And it, It, it- I can see that because I can see that...
I know.
I can say, we'll get to that.
I can see that because one of the reasons JK wasn't playing because of the floor spacing.
If you got Jimmy and Draymond out there, and JK out there, You have no floor spacing.
Jimmy's out of the picture right now.
And that opens up a spot for somebody who can make shots.
JK can do that.
Somebody who can play a little defense.
JK can do that.
Somebody who can grab a few rebounds.
JK, JK can do that.
Now, he's not gonna organize your de- offense.
He's not going to orchestrate anything, But, if you're in a bind like this, this is an emergency situation.
Hold on.
Let, let, real quick.
And so JK might... You know, as long as he's a Warrior, I think it makes sense to use him.
Now, because why else would he be there?
You're paying him a, a ton of money, $23 million.
So you're missing a guy whose presence is one of the reasons why he could not get in the rotation.
He could not even...
He couldn't finish the...
He started the season but couldn't stay there.
So if you're Steve Kerr, you've got to be thinking, "What do I have to lose at this stage?"
You know, yeah, maybe JK is mentally checked out.
Come on, now.
Where you... Yeah, well, you...
Okay, who are you going to put out there?
So, who are you going to put out there?
Just gonna mention that Melton, over his last six games, 17 points a game, 3 rebounds, 44% from three, so he's playing well.
I just wanted to get that out there.
I would still trade Jonathan Kuminga.
Oh, I'm not saying you won't trade him.
Yeah, I, I'm just saying, Monty, mentally, he's not here.
You heard Steve Kerr's answer and the tone.
Yes.
Of his answer.
Yes.
That's the same tone he gave me that morning.
The Oklahoma City game a couple Fridays ago.
Right.
"Yeah, sure, he'll be out there."
That ship has sailed, Monty.
Like, we can't...
This is criminal to even expect.
This guy, he's mentally checked out.
He's not even on this planet right now.
He's not in the state of California.
He's like, Get me out of here.
I can't deal with this now.
We know when he plays at least 30 minutes a game, the numbers are eye-popping.
They are.
We saw what happened in 2024-25 against Minnesota in that playoff series, but everybody scoffs at that.
Right?
He's got a team-friendly, tradable deal.
Contract.
And look, we could disagree.
I mean, we could agree to disagree on why he's not playing or why Steve Kerr The rotation.
I think it was a lot of spacing.
Sure, but I thought it was a panic move because they got blown out in OKC.
So he never got another shot again.
And JK needs 25 to 30 minutes.
There's no doubt about it.
He's not one of those guys who's gonna play in Four-minute bursts and have an impact.
Needs to feel the rhythm of the game.
Like most NBA players, they need a lot of time to feel the rhythm.
The game.
But to go back to that, because there's a lot of things that are at play here.
One, he's played one time since December the 6th.
Now he goes out there, hasn't played in a game situation, and all of a sudden 30 minutes.
Now you're risking soft tissue injuries.
Hamstrings, whatever, you name it.
And two, the pressure from not only this fan base, but within the organization to say, you're basically asking him to be a savior.
Some sorts.
23-year-old who hasn't played a lot?
Come on, we're asking him to be a contributing member of this team.
Pick up some of that slack after not playing and knowing the head coach play you.
They don't even see eye to eye, and I, I take it from Eddie Johnson.
I trust Eddie Johnson a lot in this.
In this...
Veteran, long time.
He said this on the show about a month ago.
Actually, he told me this at the broadcast meetings as well, back in Jersey City.
September.
Once a player loses a coach's trust, And once that player knows that that coach doesn't trust him, He's never coming back."
We heard the stories last week where Steve Kerr saying, "Oh, I'm proud of JK playing," and somebody relayed that message to him.
And he rolled his eyes.
"That ship has sailed."
I mean, like, you know, just trade him, wash your hands.
And it's best for both parties, Monty.
I, I, I... No.
Oh, no.
This is insane to think that he's going to help this team win.
Games at this point.
Okay.
Now, let me backtrack.
Okay?
I did not say, "Pull him off the trade I'm not saying that.
I'm not saying that, but I'm saying in the Interim, he's on this roster.
And you talk about trust issues, That could have been, he could, same thing would've been said last year.
Trust was gone last year, yet JK started the season in the starting lineup.
So, I'm saying right now, these are what we call extenuating circumstances.
Yeah.
And if he's going to be on this roster, and you're Paying him $22 million, you might make sense to give him a shot.
I'm not saying playing 25, 30 minutes tonight.
Right.
Again, as I said earlier, he is not... No one on this roster is gonna fill the shoes of Jimmy Butler.
That's not happening.
They don't have that.
But if you've got Kuminga on the roster, You're missing... You know Jimmy's not gonna be back for long.
Time, if at all.
My... You're looking, you're scrambling again.
Like you, Monty, he's already demanded a trade.
He's already out of here.
We understand that.
We understand that, but until he is traded, who is signing his paychecks?
I mean, he can go out there and toss an ankle, say it's an ankle injury.
Who are you going to put out there?
Right.
Who?
Well, You're gonna put the guys that you've been putting out there.
Who are you going to put out there but Porter Jr.?
Guy Santos will play.
GP2, uh, is gonna play a lot more, uh.
Will Richards is going to play a lot more.
C.J.
Day may see a lot more.
Right?
Uh.
Al Horford, we know, is not playing.
Back-to-back minutes, I mean, back-to-back games.
JK has not played in the last 16.
They won 12 of those 16 games.
Where has JK been?
At the end of the bench, with a hoodie on.
I'm not saying that JK is gonna come in and play 25.
30 minutes a night.
Right... And light it up!
But I'm saying this is the only time you have to maybe put him out there.
To see what he can give you.
His teammates have been supportive of him.
The entire time.
They have.
They insist, they insist that he has been working behind the scenes.
Yeah... Just as hard as ever.
Now, you can say, and be honest in saying, Yeah, he's working hard because he wants to be ready for it.
For his next team."
Right.
So, I don't think, I don't question his Conditioning.
You know, just because he's not playing Games doesn't mean he's not putting in the work.
No, I question where his mental state is at right now, Monte.
Yeah, well, His mental state is good.
It hasn't been good...
When was the last time his mental state was good?
First week of the season, maybe.
Even before, even last season there were When my mental health wasn't good.
Yep.
So, I think, give, Give JK some credit.
I think he's professional enough to know that.
This might be an opportunity, his...
I mean, not an opportunity to stay a Warrior for his career, but to show people what He can do... Mm... After sitting on the bench for the last Well, for the most part, over a month now.
Right.
So, he's played once since December 6th.
But Monte, That answer from Steve Kerr, does that exude confidence that he wants to play JK?
I mean, just... You were in there when Tim Kawakami asked that question from the SF Standard.
Well, wrong word.
Not, not wants to play JK.
This is a situation, well... Where he may have to.
Where he may have to, because the options are limited, and you can't put Jimmy out.
So you need a body that can guard 3s and 4s, like Jimmy did.
You need a body that can get buckets, like Jimmy did.
JK can get to the line.
He's not gonna shoot.
No...
The free throws as well as Jimmy does.
But he can get to the line because he does Attack the rim like JK, uh, like, like, uh, like Jimmy does.
So again, this is not Steve Kerr choosing to play Jonathan Kuminga.
Right.
These are extenuating circumstances.
This is, "Wow, well- Wow... You know what?"
"We may have to."
We might have to.
"We may have to."
We might have to.
And yeah, if he puts him out there and JK, you know, is terrible.
Okay.
But I don't think you can just look at JK and go, "No, you know what?
We don't have Jimmy."
Right... And one of the reasons why you weren't playing is because we did have Jimmy.
Mm-hmm.
No, I'm still...
Even though we don't have Jimmy now, But you're still out of the picture.
I mean, uh, to me, That would be more cruel than Steve putting him out there.
Yeah.
Again, I'm not sure...
I mean, I'm not saying he's the answer, right?
At all.
I'm just saying that somebody's got to fill those minutes.
And it's not just going to be Gee, Will, and the other guys.
Somebody has to absorb, uh, absorb that.
And again, If ever there was a time to showcase JK, so to speak.
This is it.
I mean, again, I'm not saying it's Out ofright.
It's a, it's, it's not much of a choice.
It's not like, uh, J.K. or who?
A, B, C. No.
If you're not going to play JK at all, At this stage, is it worth it, Monte?
Is it even fair?
If he's not mentally engaged?
At all.
Is it worth it if he's not mentally engaged and he's out of rhythm?
You're trying to win games here.
You're trying to make up ground in the West.
Conference.
You're trying to get out of the box.
You don't have many games to play with.
You already blew all these games against.
Indiana, Milwaukee, Houston, Minnesota, Toronto: who you'll see tonight.
You've already blown games, so that margin for error is gone.
You can't afford for JK to shake off his rust to get back into a rhythm to help.
Team plays basketball.
And, oh, by the way, get engaged mentally.
Again.
Mentally, as soon as the game's over, He's straight to the locker room.
Before you get to the locker room, he's already gone.
He does not want to be here and play for this coach at this point.
I think we know that.
So I, I, I just...
I don't know what that's gonna net you.
I don't know what it's gonna...
If it's going to be a net positive for the Golden State Warriors to play this young man this point in time.
I still think you.
Net positive, Yeah... Trade this guy.
Probably not.
Probably not.
But again, you know, these are the circumstances.
Yeah, no doubt.
And so, um, yeah, I, I think the A conversation could be had, should be had.
Yeah.
With Steve and JK.
"Hey, look, you know, you're out of the rotation"Right..." "and here's why."
I mean, He already knows why he was out of the rotation.
And so, I'm not saying he's gonna be the cure-all, he's gonna fix everything.
Warriors are just gonna keep rolling.
I'm just saying that.
Um, somebody has to fill those minutes.
No doubt.
I agree.
And JK deserves a chance.
I think he wants to show what he can do, even if for.
Even if it's for the Warriors.
No, he doesn't want to be here long-term.
And I think he knows, right, he won't be here long-term.
See, we already know that.
So.
I don't think he cares about showcasing his talents anymore on this organization.
Because, you know why?
He would've played in that OKC game.
And he came up with a back injury.
And we all wondered... And there's an unnamed player who said he probably would've done the same.
Yeah.
There's an unnamed player on record.
Saying he would've done the same thing as JK did before that OKC game.
Well... Against a young, athletic team to showcase your talents.
So I think showcasing, he's gonna tell, could just.
Hey, pop in the tape of the second-round playoff series against Minnesota.
Here's your tape.
There's your showcase.
If JK is given the opportunity to play and declines, then all this Professionalism stuff that we've been hearing about, he's being a professional.
I've got a question about that.
Yeah.
I've got a question about that.
You know.
If you're going to turn down an opportunity to play, even if you've mentally checked out, from what I understand about NBA players.
They all want to play.
No doubt.
And if you're saying, "No, dog, no," No, I'm done.
Yeah, I'm done.
No, he's...
I know you guys are trying.
"I know you could use me now, maybe, but no."
I mean, then, Then, yeah, I would question the professionalism on his part.
Because that's what we've been hearing from the other guys.
He's been a pro about this.
Do you believe Steve Kerr wants to play him?
And I don't think he wants to say... What's that?
Does Steve Kerr want to play him?
He may have to.
I don't think it's a want.
I think he may have to.
You know, and so the last thing about, I'm going to say about JK is that, yes, if the opportunity is there, To me, it makes sense to give it a shot, even if he goes out there and isn't good.
But what if he's good?
What if he's good?
And so, I think when you look at this roster right now, We already know the roster, the joint, the Warriors are small.
And so they get smaller without Jimmy, unless you put JK in there.
And I'm not saying he's the answer.
I'm not saying that.
I'm just saying the door is open, slightly ajar, if you want to put it that way.
Well... To see what he can give you.
And if he goes out there and stinks it up, Okay, yeah.
You can put him back in that last seat.
On the bench.
But if he goes out there and gives you some juice.
You know, maybe you can ride that for a little while until you do trade him.
Because I think eventually, yes, JK is not long for this roster.
I-I know.
Go ahead.
Yeah, no, I, I just...
I don't think Steve Kerr has to play him.
And I think Steve Kerr will exhaust all options before playing him.
And even when he has played well, it hasn't been good enough for this organization.
He's had great stretches, and he's been good, then he's been yanked from rotation.
Couple slip-ups here and there, and boom, he's not playing anymore.
So, I don't think good is good enough at this point with Jonathan Kuminga.
