Steve Kerr reflects on his vision for Jonathan Cumminga amid trade rumors

SAN FRANCISCO– The end is near for Jonathan Kuminga and his time with Golden State Warriors. With his trade restriction expiring on January 15th, he’s firmly out of it Steve Kerrrotation, all signs point to the inevitable split that loomed over both sides when they signed him to a contract last summer.

But for a brief moment early in the season, the Warriors’ ideal vision for Cummings looked like it might come to fruition. A short week and a half in which the Dubs went 4-1 and Kuminga was fully entrenched as the starter, where patience on both sides finally seemed to pay off.

Of course, that moment has faded like a comet in the night, with injury and inconsistent play leading to Cummings getting DNP-CD after DNP-CD, which brings us to just under a week before his trade restriction expires, and less than a month before the trade deadline. Amid the not uncommon uncertainty surrounding Cummings’ future, Kerr reflected on his vision for the 23-year-old striker at the start of the season against how to play.

“I’m disappointed for him that things didn’t continue to go the way they did the first few weeks,” Kerr said. “At the same time, it’s been tough to start JK, Jimmy, Draymond, at the 2, 3 and 4. I think everybody can see that it’s a tough combination based on shooting.”

In 163 minutes together this season, the Cummings-Butler-Green trio had a mediocre 114.8 offensive rating and 106.3 defensive rating. Those stats were far better than last season, but as Kerr pointed out, the offensive eye test showed a three that lacked the necessary spacing needed in the modern NBA.

“Weaknesses of that team were discovered and that’s why we went in a different direction.

Will Kuminga see the floor again in a Warriors uniform?

With the lack that Kuminga and the Warriors are currently living in, it’s hard to see him returning to the rotation as if nothing happened. There’s always the fear on both sides that an injury could derail a potential trade, but politics aside, Kuminga’s on/off numbers suggest he just doesn’t fit into this team’s offense.

The Warriors are -6.0 points per 100 possessions with Cummings on the floor, which ranks in the 16th percentile among all NBA players according to Glass cleaning. The Warriors simply shoot worse, turn the ball over more and shoot fewer free throws with him on the floor.

All that to say, it’s hard to see a path to Kuminga returning to the rotation. Especially considering that ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel reported that both sides they have a mutual understanding to keep him on the sidelines until the trade materializes.

Regardless, Kerr still isn’t ruling out the possibility of Kuminga returning to the court for the Warriors, despite emphasizing the strength of the rotation.

“It’s about the rotation, we’re at a place right now where we feel good about our starting lineup,” Kerr said ahead of the Dubs’ matchup with the Sacramento Kings.

“He can change. He can always change. But right now things weren’t going his way.”