After over two months and 31 games missed, Jonathan Kuminga is set to to return to the Golden State Warriors when they host the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center on Thursday night.
However, the team that Kuminga returns to is far different to the one he left in early January where the Warriors were hovering a game above .500. Since then, the franchise has made a blockbuster trade for 6x All-Star Jimmy Butler, while head coach Steve Kerr has handed legitimate rotation roles to rookie center Quinten Post and second-year forward Gui Santos.
Jonathan Kuminga has a clear objective upon his return to the Warriors
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At the point where Kuminga was injured, Golden State were in desperate need of a second star to try and lessen the burden on Stephen Curry. The former seventh overall pick was in the process of taking that step, having led the Warriors in scoring as he averaged 24.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in the six games prior to injury.
Golden State have that second star now with Butler, meaning Kuminga will be asked to take a backseat of sorts as [Steve Kerr described to 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs](https://x.com/957thegame/status/1899625097327247496) on Tuesday.
_"We're going to to run through Jimmy Butler, and we're going to run through Stephen Curry,"_ Kerr said. _"So what that requires of JK is to be settling into a role to support those guys and that's slightly different, and that's just something that he has to adapt to."_
So what does that supporting role look like? Defense and rebounding will be the key factors, along with running the floor in transition and cutting hard to the rim at appropriate times. We've seen how Butler has had a hugely positive impact on the likes of Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Post, and there's no reason he can't also aid Kuminga whose natural talent should see him walk into 15 points per game at the very least.
The issue is neither of these three aforementioned young players necessarily have ambitions to become an All-Star in the short-term, nor are they potentially playing for a $120+ million contract. That's where the challenge lies, with Kuminga now having to harness his individual ambition inside that of the team's current situation.
Whether he can do that effectively or not may determine whether the Warriors can truly sustain a deep playoff run, or whether they're still short-handed when it comes to competing alongside the absolute top tier of teams around the league.