“Jonathan Kuminga Has Lost Faith in Steve Kerr”: Shams Charania Reports Rift within the Warriors Amid Underwhelming Season

The Golden State Warriors appear to have recently added another issue to their long list of ongoing struggles this season, according to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Jonathan Kuminga is having a breakthrough season this year. But he is apparently frustrated with the limited playing time that has been afforded by head coach Steve Kerr. Following the Warriors’ recent loss against the Denver Nuggets, during which he played just 19 minutes, Kuminga has reportedly ‘lost faith’ in his head coach.

According to a source close to the player, Kuminga ran out of patience during the match against the Nuggets. He was taken off with around 6 minutes left in the third quarter, which happened 12 seconds after he nailed a jumper.

The player did not return for the rest of the game which appears to have resulted in the loss of faith. “(Thursday night) was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” the source told The Athletic. “After sitting for the final 18 minutes of Thursday night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has lost faith in coach Steve Kerr,” Charania and Anthony Slater reported for The Athletic, citing sources close to Kuminga.

The 22-year-old was one of the most impactful Warriors players on the night and had 16 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes. He was a team-high +6 despite the limited game time. Kuminga was taken off even though he has consistently been a positive influence for the Warriors in their recent struggles. The Dubs ended up losing the game by 3 points.

When asked about Kuminga being taken off, Kerr suggested that it had more to do with the fact that the Warriors were dominating in the 4th quarter until around the halfway mark. “He was playing great. His normal time to go back in would have been around the five, six minute mark (of the 4th quarter). (Wiggins) was playing great, we were rolling, we’re up 18, 19, whatever it was,” Kerr said, claiming that the decision was merely tactical.

“So we just stayed with him. Then at that point, it didn’t feel like the right thing to do. He had been sitting for a while. So I stayed with the group that was out there, and obviously, we couldn’t close it out,” the head coach added.

While Kerr clearly does not see taking Kuminga off as a huge issue, that does not seem to be true with respect to the youngster himself. Kerr went on to suggest that Andrew Wiggins and Kuminga do not seem to be ‘great together,’ which is why he generally prefers to leave only one on the floor. This led to the decision to keep Kuminga on the bench, as Wiggins was making an impact, until he wasn’t.

The Warriors will need to address their issues

While the Warriors surely needed Kuminga to play a part in the 4th quarter against the Nuggets, it is not to say that the 21-year-old has had a lack of opportunity recently. He has started the last 11 games for the Warriors and the matchup against the Nuggets on December 6th was the last time that the player played for less than 20 minutes in a game.

Considering this has happened in the backdrop of some serious issues, such as Draymond Green’s absence and lack of clarity over the starting 5, fans might be left confused with respect to the latest claims. Kuminga continues to become a bigger part of the Warriors with each passing week and has seldom failed to deliver.

However, reports have indicated a brewing rift between the Warriors for some time now. Even Moses Moody’s camp seem to be displeased with the situation at Chase Center. Stephen Curry will need to rally his troops towards unity if the Dubs want a legitimate shot at the postseason this year.