“Nobody’s Winning Right Now”: Steve Kerr Delivers Blunt Reality Check on Difficult Jonathan Kuminga Situation

Jonathan Kuminga’s time in Golden State has been anything but straightforward. Earlier this season, his difficult offseason situation cast an awkward light on both the young forward and the organization. raising questions about fit and long-term direction. There were stretches where his role felt unclear, and the frustration was noticeable. And now, he’s been completely iced out.

Kerr is not a coach who can be easily doubted. He’s been at the Warriors for 12 years and has four championships and multiple accolades to show for. But for some reason, he cannot get on the same page as Kuminga.

It’s reaching a point where the team as a whole is getting affected by the situation. Kerr, during a chat with Willard & Dibs, admitted that the situation with the young star has been hard to ignore.

“I’m just gonna to say, it’s a difficult situation. I think you guys know it. Everybody knows it. You know I’m just gonna leave it at that,” Kerr began.

That would be putting it mildly. Everyone in the NBA community seems to know that Kuminga and Kerr just aren’t a good fit. It’s a relationship that was forced to work in the off-season when Kuminga signed a $48 million two-year extension. Unsurprisingly, it just hasn’t worked.

“I’m just gonna to say, it’s a difficult situation. I think you guys know it. Everybody knows it. You know I’m just gonna leave it at that… We have to control what we can control and try to keep moving the ship forward. This is not an easy situation. It’s not an easy one to talk… pic.twitter.com/wwvAuSeVuu

— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) January 15, 2026

“We have to control what we can control and try to keep moving the ship forward. This is not an easy situation. It’s not an easy one to talk about, frankly. I try to protect everybody organizationally. And nobody’s winning right now with this situation and it’s unfortunate, but it is what it is,” added Kerr.

At a certain point, you have to put the idea to rest. It’s okay to acknowledge the past didn’t work. What’s more important is not letting it continue to impact your future.

Kuminga’s camp doesn’t want him to lose value in a potential trade market

What makes Jonathan Kuminga’s situation even juicier is the fact that the trade deadline is fast approaching. The Congolese baller has been interested in being dealt away from the Dubs since the summer, and now it is crunch time.

Kuminga’s camp knows this is a now-or-never situation better than anyone. They leaked to NBA insider Brett Siegel that they refuse to let their client’s lack of minutes affect his potential value in a market full of teams that could certainly use his talents.

“Kuminga and his camp believe it is in his best interest to stay ready behind the scenes and no longer let Kerr’s decisions regarding the young forward’s minutes impact his value in the eyes of other teams that have interest in him around the league. Not to mention, Kuminga’s side doesn’t want to risk him getting injured,” Siegel reported.

Jonathan Kuminga and his camp believe it is in his best interest to stay ready behind the scenes and no longer let Steve Kerr’s decisions regarding his minutes impact his value, per @BrettSiegelNBA

This is believed to be the reason Kuminga has not played recently pic.twitter.com/X5I2GpAihG

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) January 6, 2026

At this point, it feels less like a development issue and more like a timing issue that has run its course. Golden State is trying to win now, while Kuminga is trying to secure his future, and those priorities no longer align.

That does not mean either side failed. It simply means the partnership is no longer a healthy fit, and that is okay. Sometimes the cleanest move is not forcing chemistry that is not there, but making a decision that allows everyone to breathe and move forward, even if that means parting ways.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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