With the pre-divorce posturing of the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga in its ninth week, anticipation has become tedium, which is a hothouse for conjecture finger-pointing. The Blame Game is in full effect.
Golden State CEO Joe Lacob is catching arrows for his publicly staunch devotion to Kuminga, who is catching arrows for rejecting multiple offers. Former general manager Bob Myers is catching arrows for drafting Kuminga, at age 18, on the recommendation of lieutenants in the front office. Coach Steve Kerr and the members of his staff are catching arrows for not teaching Kuminga how to become a young Paul George.
Current general manager Mike Dunleavy is catching arrows for staying patient rather than making a trade that will vault the Warriors back to the top of the NBA mountain – as unrealistic is that is.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler III, whose arrival spun Kuminga toward the exit, is somewhere sipping coffee and playing dominoes.
The case for keeping Kuminga on the roster was considerably weakened on the afternoon of Feb. 6 when Butler was acquired in a trade with the Miami Heat. With the Warriors going in circles with or without Kuminga, Dunleavy gambled on Butler and hoped the move would put the squad back into the NBA playoff picture.
It did. The Warriors, 25-26 before Butler’s debut, won 14 of 16 games immediately after Butler joined the roster. Over the final 31 regular-season games, they were 23-8 – third-best record in the league – with a core of Stephen Cury, Draymond Green and Butler.
Golden State was 13-2 with Butler while Kuminga was inactive with a right ankle sprain. That effectively sealed the young forward’s fate. The Warriors might have consulted an attorney to start divorce proceedings, with at least three valid reasons for taking such action.
One, they know Kuminga was aching to start and there is no way Kerr would start JK at forward ahead of decorated veterans Green or Butler.
Two, there was no way Kerr would start a frontcourt of Kuminga, Butler and Green (at center), inviting a clogged offense that would make every game an obstacle course for Curry and the three defenders chasing him.
Three, the idea of patching a Warriors-Kuminga relationship that spent four years trying to make the incompatible somehow compatible is not desirable for either party.
It always was difficult for Kuminga, a raw talent coming to a franchise which had dreams of transforming his elite physical attributes into a future cornerstone. His arrival coincided with a remaking of the player-development staff, recruiting highly respected Jama Mahlalela from Toronto and Dejan “Deki” Milojević from Serbia.
That led to a 2022 NBA Finals victory, which planted a seed of belief that the so-called “two-timelines” approach could sprout success. It has not. And Kuminga remains a square peg in a system designed for those who fit neatly into round holes.
“One guy that was put in a similar situation is Paul George when he got to Indiana,” one NBA front-office executive tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “When he got there, they were right on the cusp. Danny Granger was playing in front of him, and Lance Stephenson was there. And eventually, he was able to play with that David West group; they were competing for championships.
“But it was like the perfect setup for Paul. They weren’t a big-market team, but they were a good team. He got a chance to grow while they were trying to win. And a lot of his mistakes weren’t as magnified as Kuminga’s have been because of the team he is on.”
George came off the bench as a rookie and became a starter in Year 2. The Indiana Pacers reached the Eastern Conference finals in Year 3, with George becoming an NBA All-Star and being voted Most Improved Player.
Whereas George entered the NBA at age 20, having played two years of collegiate ball as a starter at Fresno State, Kuminga entered the league after starting 13 games with the G-League Ignite. Very different conditions, very different trajectory, very different result.
Regarding Golden State’s prevailing quandary, the blame must be shared by the front office, the coaching staff and Kuminga himself.
But it was Butler who last season gave the Warriors the kind of bump they surely hoped Kuminga might provide by Year 4. Following two previous big-money acquisitions in the Lacob era – David Lee in 2010, Kevin Durant in 2016 – Jimmy showed he can lift the Warriors to a higher level.
Sometime within the next 10 months, Kuminga will move on. And all parties will know any hope for his future in Golden State was sacrificed for Butler’s present. Blame Jimmy at your own risk.
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