Jonathan Kuminga #1 of the Golden State Warriors
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Jonathan Kuminga #1 of the Golden State Warriors
There was 4:28 to go in the second quarter of Thursday’s nationally televised game between the Warriors and the Mavericks, when Golden State forward Jonathan Kuminga collected a rebound off a blocked shot and drove toward the rim. As he got into the lane, he took an awkward step onto the foot of Brandon Williams and it was clear from the moment he took off that something was wrong.
Kuminga limped toward the baseline under the basket before sitting down in an empty chair. He shot his free throws, made both and stayed on the floor until the next timeout. But that was when Kuminga asked out of the game and went into the locker room.
The prognosis was not great–Kuminga would miss the rest of the game–but it could have been worse.
As ESPN’s Anthony Slater wrote on Twitter/X: “It was an ankle twist and minor knee hyperextension for JonathanKuminga, per source. He’s done for the night but it isn’t believed to be serious.Kuminga has 30 points in his 30 minutes since rotation return. He was a +18 before the injury tonight.”
Warriors in Stretch of Terrible Luck
Indeed, it’s a continuation of the bum luck the Warriors have had in the past week, which began with star forward Jimmy Butler tearing his ACL–an injury that will end his season–and now goes to Kuminga dealing with a knee/ankle issue. Kuminga had been out of the rotation since he suffered a minor injury back in mid-December.
But he returned to the rotation in the wake of Butler’s injury on Tuesday, going for 20 points in 21 minutes. He appeared poised to follow that up with another very efficient showing against the Mavericks–10 points on 3-for-3 shooting, with 4-for-4 free-throw shooting in nine minutes–before the injury.
Warriors Want to See ‘Energy’
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was asked whether he planned to keep Kuminga in the rotation before the game and he said yes, but laughed: “Go ahead. You got lots more Kuminga questions. Fire away.”
He was asked what he wants to see from Kuminga, and Kerr said, “I want to see what I want to see from the rest of our guys, just play hard, do the things that we are preaching. Play with energy. Play as a group.”
Jonathan Kuminga Trade Widely Expected
For Kerr and the Warriors, of course, everything that happens with Kuminga is under a microscope. Kerr has removed Kuminga from the team’s rotation multiple times in the past year since acquiring Jimmy Butler, feeling that he’s unable to put too many non-shooters on the floor in today’s game. Butler and Draymond Green are lineup mainstays, so there isn’t really room for Kuminga.
The Warriors and Kuminga had a long standoff this summer when he was a restricted free agent, as he sought a sign-and-trade to land somewhere he could get more playing time. Ultimately, the sides agreed on a two-year, $46 million contract that would facilitate a trade.
Kuminga lodged a trade demand with the Warriors last week, and the team is trying to find a suitable deal–even as it copes with the loss of Butler. But while the hope is that the injury is not serious, any impediment to a Kuminga deal before the February 5 NBA trade deadline is a problem for the Warriors.