The Golden State Warriors have struggled throughout the 2023-24 NBA season to find consistency on both ends of the floor. A recent five-game winning streak helped get the team back over the .500 mark, but sustaining performance at that level of play has been difficult.
The ever-changing rotation certainly doesn’t help. Draymond Green is on his second suspension of the season, this time indefinitely, after a flagrant foul against Jusuf Nurkic of the Phoenix Suns. It is the second suspension for Green this season, who was suspended by the NBA for five games after putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold earlier this season.
In addition to Green’s absence, the Warriors have been without Gary Payton II because of a torn calf muscle. That has led to head coach Steve Kerr having to constantly change lineups and rotations, which has led to the most recent combination with a bit of a youth movement.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Jonathan Kuminga & Golden State Warriors Updates
One of the players who has been inserted into the lineup for recent games is Jonathan Kuminga. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft looks to finally be finding his stride and is playing some of the best basketball of his young career.
He has scored in double-figures in 10 straight games, the longest such streak of his career. He extended it on Christmas Day against the Denver Nuggets when he scored 13 points and came away with a ton of confidence against the defending NBA Champions.
“I’ma keep it real with you. Me with the ball, nobody’s guarding me,” Kuminga said, via Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, at his locker after the Warriors 120-114 loss on Christmas Day in Denver.
That is a lot of confidence for Kuminga to be exuding. But, he knows that he still has a long way to go on the offensive side of the ball. Finding his spots and when to be aggressive is something he is still learning, and admitted as much after the game.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Jonathan Kuminga & Golden State Warriors Updates
“But sometimes,” Kuminga said, “I’ve gotta take that away to make sure my OGs get the ball. That’s where it’s confusing. Sometimes, I come out the game not knowing what I did. And that messes with my head. It’s like, ‘What they want me to do?’ I can pass and I can do different s—.”
Kuminga is one of the most important players for the Warriors. His development is key to the team being able to compete after the Big 3 of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green move on. That passing of the torch seems to already be underway, as Kerr looks to once again toe that line between rebuilding and contending with his current core of veterans.
Kuminga realizing some of the immense potential that he possesses would go a long way in the team finding success. He is showing progress in the present but is only scratching the surface of what he can provide the team as a two-way producer.
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