Warriors Rumor: Jonathan Kuminga May Leave as Steve Kerr Prioritizes Draymond Green in Coaching Strategy

“I think JK, if you look at his 3 years here, I think it would look like the stock market over 10 years.” Steve Kerr recently was quite specific in highlighting how Jonathan Kuminga’s progress should be looked at. Within just a 3-season period with the Warriors, the 22-year-old has seen a slow but steady rise in his performance as a power forward. The proof lies in his stats from last season itself! However, he is now looking for a change, putting him in a headlock, in a similar situation that would give Déjà vu to Bay Area fans.

Earlier today, NBA Insider Trevor Lane revealed that Kuminga is now eligible for a contract extension with his 4-year, $24.85 million rookie deal approaching its final years. Magic‘s Franz Wagner and Cavaliers‘ Evan Mobley, both of them share the same draft class as the Warrior, have already received an extension and a huge raise on their average salary.

Unfortunately, the Warriors are being reluctant to give the player what he wants. However, is the situation so bad that it may lead to a possible ‘Klay Thompson-like’ exit scenario? It may when combined with the fact that Steve Kerr may not be granting the young star the position he desires. “Here’s the problem right now. Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, both of them are seen as power forwards by the Golden State Warriors. That’s not what Jonathan Kuminga thinks, though. That’s also not what Draymond Green thinks about Jonathan Kuminga,” Lane explained.

The host highlighted that for Kuminga to play at 4 (power forward), Draymond will have to be shifted to 5 (Center). Unfortunately, as Trevor Lane explained on Basketball Bulletin, “Draymond doesn’t want to be the 5, Steve Kerr doesn’t want him to be the 5!”

Trevor Lane’s remarks are not based on speculation. After all, Steve Kerr himself revealed his intentions during training camp, stating “There’s part of me that’s like, ‘82 games with Draymond playing at Center?’ There are teams that are playing bigger now. I don’t love the idea of Draymond being the starting 5 and playing heavy minutes there game after game.”

While Steve Kerr’s experience tells him to not experiment too much with Draymond Green, especially when the franchise is a star player short now, he also realizes that Jonathan Kuminga struggles to thrive in the power forward position. After all, the last season saw the player struggling in the essential role of getting rebounds, only averaging 4.8.

Jonathan Kuminga feels it is certainly time for a role change, but not at the Center position. As he revealed to NBC Sports, “At the end of the day I know I’m a small forward and I can play at the highest level. But just going forward, it’s all about what the team wants you to do for them to win, to help them win.”

When looking at the factors behind Klay Thompson’s exit, two major reasons were cited. One involved the trouble of the player and the franchise agreeing on a viable extension, while the other focused on KT’s reportedly diminishing role. Months later, we seem to be back at the same place! As Chandler Bing would say, “My Time Machine works.”

While Draymond Green stands as an obstacle to Jonathan Kuminga for the power forward role, he may be the ally that the young player may need to make a shift to small forward.

“My answer is 3”: Draymond Green endorsed a potential Jonathan Kuminga shift to small forward

Steve Kerr was not the only one to share his thoughts during the training camp. Draymond Green was also roped in for pressers and during one such session, he was asked if Jonathan Kuminga was ready to play more in the small-forward position. The defensive star didn’t hesitate and replied, “I think he’s a 3 (small forward). That’s always been my opinion. That’s not going to change my feeling.”

Amidst the endorsement, however, Draymond Green also made the case for why Jonathan Kuminga shouldn’t be the power forward, revealing, “It is a position that you have to know how to play. You don’t think anybody can play point guard. The 4 is the same thing. It requires a certain skill set, a certain knowledge, a certain understanding of that position to do that.”

The Warrior concluded the remarks, by adding, “Can he adjust and learn that? I don’t know. Can a receiver learn how to be a quarterback in two years? So, you know, my answer is 3.” With the deadline for the extension set for October 21, a decision on how to move forward with Jonathan Kuminga needs to be made quickly.

Joe Lacob and Co. aren’t willing to give their young gun a max extension (like the 5-year, $224-million deal Franz Wagner got from the Magic that will start at 25% of the cap) or anything that even nears $44.8 million per year. Reaching an agreement on both the player’s salary and position would ensure that he remains a key member of the Golden State Warriors for the upcoming years.

What would you have done?

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.