Jonathan Kuminga’s time with the Golden State Warriors has been, in a word, confusing. He’s clearly talented, and the team wouldn’t mind keeping him in the Bay Area. But they’re unwilling to pay him what he wants, and his playing time doesn’t reflect how highly they supposedly value him. Add to that his deteriorating relationship with Steve Kerr, and you’ve got a very messy cocktail.
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Former NBA player and coach Sam Mitchell believes that Jonathan Kuminga has the potential to be an outstanding player. However, due to inconsistent playing time and the way the Warriors have mishandled his development, the league still can’t determine what kind of player he will become.
On SiriusXM NBA Radio, Mitchell said that as a young player going to an established dynastic team in the Warriors, Kuminga’s path to the top was already difficult. But the added hesitance to pay him what he wants, and the ‘virtually untouchable’ tag they gave him at last year’s trade deadline, puts him in a tight spot.
Kuminga can neither showcase his talent, because the Warriors have Jimmy Butler playing his position, nor can he be packaged in a trade, because the team doesn’t want to let him go in case Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes available.
“Jonathan Kuminga didn’t get to do that (create his own identity as a player), he never got a chance for people to identify him. Cos as much as I like him, I still couldn’t tell you exactly what kind of a player he is. I think he got a chance to be really good, but we don’t know cos inconsistent minutes,” Mitchell said.
“He never got a chance for people to identify ‘This is who I am.’”
With Jonathan Kuminga’s contract situation in Golden State still unresolved, @SamMitchellNBA tells @BGeltzNBA it’s hard to properly evaluate him as a player. pic.twitter.com/wTahHnoxFW
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 26, 2025
Sam Amico, a senior NBA writer, has reported that Kerr’s inability to fit Kuminga into a system has led to an almost complete breakdown in the relationship between the two, and that the Congolese wants out of Golden State because of that.
Of course, most questions as to why Kerr doesn’t give him minutes would start with his stats, but Kuminga has done admirably well in the limited time he’s been given. He averaged only 24.3 minutes per game last season, but registered an impressive 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in that time.
His agent also has been under fire lately, for apparently going back on his words. Last year, the Warriors had offered Kuminga a contract worth roughly $30 million annually, and he and his team denied that, hoping to get something closer to $35 million. This year, his agent has come out and said that the reports from last year were bogus, and that Kuminga was never offered the 5-year $150-million contract in the first place.
This tale will, most likely, go on for a while. Kuminga wants regular playing time, and the Dubs seem unable to give that to him. They also seem unwilling to bite the bullet and let him go as part of a trade because they have seen huge upsides to him, and would hate to lose a huge talent.
Whichever way this goes, let’s hope, for Kuminga’s sake, that it’s sorted quickly, because we’d hate to see a young player’s career stalled by contract negotiations.
