Steve Kerr has made an interesting call regarding his team selection for the New Orleans Pelicans game at Chase Center. The Warriors’ head coach has benched his fourth-year star Jonathan Kuminga. ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania broke the news via his social media.
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Moments after that, Kerr sat down for a pre-game conversation with the media. While answering a question about Kuminga’s poor performances in the first three games, the veteran HC said that he isn’t worried about it at all, especially since the sample size is only three games.
The 59-year-old added that they have a long season ahead and Kuminga is a crucial part of his plans for the upcoming campaigns.
He said, “It’s three games, it’s nothing. I don’t ever worry about a small sample size like that. JK had a really good preseason, he will come around. We’re gonna need his force, his athleticism and tonight could be a big night for him in that regard, depending on how the game plays out…”
“I’m not worried about JK at all, he’ll come around,” Kerr added.
Steve Kerr spoke before tonight's game about Jonathan Kuminga's play during the Warriors' first three contests pic.twitter.com/EjOd7ZVGwp
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 30, 2024
In the first three games, Kuminga has scored a total of 24 points. His worst performance was against the Utah Jazz where he could only manage two points, a rebound, and an assist in 18 minutes. This might look concerning from the outside but Kerr outlined that Kuminga had a good preseason run and he’ll soon get back in that rhythm.
However, with him being benched for the Pelicans game, the 22-year-old might have to wait a little longer to get back to his old form. Charania also highlighted the contract extension drama during his reporting of the news. He wrote, “Intriguing development in a fourth season when no extension was complete for both sides and team has discussed setting him up to take the next step.”
The Warriors are moving F Jonathan Kuminga to bench tonight vs. Pelicans, sources tell me and @kendra__andrews. Intriguing development in a fourth season when no extension was complete for both sides and team has discussed setting him up to take the next step. pic.twitter.com/RxYOq3nuuj
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 30, 2024
Despite Kuminga’s string of poor performances, the decision to send him to the bench for tonight’s game is confusing. The Warriors are already without Stephen Curry, De’Anthony Melton, and Andrew Wiggins. All three players were featured on the injury report and will not participate against the Pelicans.
Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Draymond Green, and Trayce Jackson-Davis are in the expected starting lineup.
It begs the question, is there more to Kuminga being benched than just his recent performance? Hopefully, Steve Kerr will provide an explanation on it after the game.
It is noteworthy that Kuminga got involved in quite a bit of controversy last season for calling out Kerr for not starting him despite his consistency on the floor. It is uncertain whether the current development is a continuation of that.
