Jonathan Kuminga injury update, Kuminga return timeline, Jonathan Kuminga Warriors trade, Steve Kerr Jonathan Kuminga comments, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler injury, Warriors Kuminga trade, Jonathan Kuminga Atlanta Hawks trade, Kristaps Porzingis trade, Hawks Kuminga injury update, Kerr and Draymond on Kuminga trade
Getty
After being traded from the Golden State Warriors for Kristaps Porzingis, the Atlanta Hawks have now given a Jonathan Kuminga injury update.
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob has rarely shied away from bold decisions. From trading Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut — a move that helped ignite a dynasty — to authorizing blockbuster swings during the Stephen Curry era, Lacob’s fingerprints are all over the franchise’s modern history.
This week, Lacob addressed another controversial decision for the first time: the trade that ended Jonathan Kuminga’s five-season run in Golden State.
Speaking to The San Francisco Standard after the Warriors’ 121–110 loss to the Boston Celtics, Lacob pushed back on the idea that moving on from Kuminga was emotionally difficult — despite their widely reported closeness and the belief that Lacob personally championed the former lottery pick.
“Not hard; everyone assumes a lot about that,” Lacob said on signing off the Kuminga trade. “Look, I liked him as a player, I like him as a person. … And at times, he showed a lot of potential for us. Just never quite really worked entirely. And he got injured at inopportune times.”
The Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga Decision
The Warriors ultimately traded Kuminga to the Atlanta Hawks at this year’s trade deadline in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis, opting for immediate frontcourt stability over continued development.
Lacob framed the move as a necessary pivot rather than a sudden break.
“I think we all knew we had to do something,” Lacob said. “But we weren’t going to give him away, either. Because he is a talent, and a lot of people think that, too. It just worked out — we got something that we thought was worth doing. Otherwise, we would’ve kept him.”
Kuminga’s role under head coach Steve Kerr fluctuated throughout his tenure, but last season proved especially untenable as Golden State struggled to balance development with contention.
The Warriors had explored a potential sign-and-trade framework in the offseason — one that could have yielded a lottery-protected first-round pick from Sacramento — but ultimately held firm until the deadline, settling instead for Porziņģis’ expiring contract.
Warriors Owner Pushes Back on ‘Coddling’ Narrative
Lacob also directly addressed long-running criticism that he shielded Kuminga from trade talks or overruled basketball operations to keep him in the organization.
“I don’t think so (we could have gotten more in the past for Kuminga),” Lacob said. “People say I loved him as a player, I was protecting him, I was whatever. That’s just not true. … But you know, it just didn’t work. It looked like it was going to work. It was off and on a lot.”
Those comments arrive amid renewed scrutiny of Lacob’s involvement in personnel decisions — scrutiny detailed in a recent report by ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
Inside the 2021 Draft That Changed Everything
According to Slater, Lacob played an outsized role in Golden State’s decision to select Kuminga with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft — a moment that became a fault line inside the organization.
Lacob reportedly developed a strong belief in Kuminga during the predraft process, including a dinner meeting in Miami shortly before the draft. Team sources told Slater that Lacob became convinced Kuminga could evolve into a future face of the franchise, a conviction that persisted even as concerns grew internally about fit.
The Warriors worked out more than 70 prospects that year. Several members of the coaching staff strongly favored Franz Wagner, who ultimately went No. 8 to the Orlando Magic.
“The group that attended Wagner’s workout came away adamant he’d be an ideal fit in Steve Kerr’s system,” Slater reported.
Kerr, however, was largely removed from the process while preparing with Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics and did not form a firm opinion on Kuminga, according to team sources.
When Golden State went on the clock, both players were available. Slater reported that Lacob pushed for Kuminga, while then-general manager Bob Myers and assistant general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. did not object.
“Bob and I have felt for several years that we’ve needed physicality,” Lacob said on draft night. “Athleticism and physicality.”
A Fork in the Franchise Timeline
In the seasons that followed, Wagner blossomed into a 20-point-per-game scorer, while Kuminga struggled to secure a consistent role in Golden State’s motion-heavy offense and defensive system.
Slater reported that Lacob’s continued public support of Kuminga — including visible celebrations during standout performances — was viewed internally as an effort to validate the original decision, complicating later trade talks.
Last week’s deal finally closed one of the most debated chapters of Lacob’s ownership tenure.
For the Warriors, the Kuminga era ends not with the promise once envisioned, but with a reminder of how thin the line can be between dynasty-defining gambles — and those that never quite fit.