Jonathan Kuminga has reportedly been frustrated with his role on the Golden State Warriors on a few occasions over the last few years, as the former top-10 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft has struggled to get consistent playing time on a team that has championship aspirations. But due to his recent play, things have changed with Kuminga to the point that Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports he’s “pretty much untouchable” before the trade deadline gets here on Thursday.
.@WindhorstESPN weighs in on what the Warriors might do at the trade deadline
pic.twitter.com/TzqFIRdibH
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 6, 2024
“I know there’s been some discussion there about whether they could trade Chris Paul, I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Windhorst said. “I do think Andrew Wiggins … also, Jonathan Kuminga’s playing the best basketball of his career. They’ve boosted his playing time by about eight minutes a game over the last ten games. He’s pretty much untouchable right now — I think it’s Steph, and Kuminga, and then everything else.”
In the aftermath of a loss to the Denver Nuggets last month in which Steve Kerr opted to keep Kuminga on the bench down the stretch despite putting up big numbers, a report hit the internet which indicated that Kuminga lost faith in his coach’s ability to help him reach his potential. Since then, Kuminga has been quite good for Golden State, even as the team’s struggled to pick up wins — he’s averaging 21.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in 32.1 minutes per game while shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three over the last 13 games.
The Warriors have not had an especially great 2023-24 campaign, as the team is 22-25, sits in 12th place in the Western Conference, and sit a full game back of the 10-seed and the final spot in the Play-In Tournament. And if they are able to make up some ground and get a spot in the postseason, it appears Kuminga will be around to play a part.