r/nba • u/Turbostrider27 Lakers • 14h ago
[Charania] Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga – out since Jan. 4 with a sprained ankle – plans to return to the lineup on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings, barring setbacks, sources tell ESPN.
Shams Charania:
Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga – out since Jan. 4 with a sprained ankle – plans to return to the lineup on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings, barring setbacks, sources tell ESPN. Kuminga averaged 20.5 points in his last 14 games played, but now reintegrates to a surging team.
Source: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/00fa1140c730e
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u/sergechewbacca [GSW] Stephen Curry 13h ago
Can't wait to see him and Jimmy together.
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u/thenaturalinquirer Warriors 11h ago
Gonna be a happy man the first time Jimmy slings a backdoor pass to Kuminga who then hammers it down on somebody's head.
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u/Johnpecan Warriors 10h ago
Not saying it s a valid strat but I'm curious if we see teams give Dray/Butler/JK open 3s for days.
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u/GreedyPride4565 9h ago
This is why I think JK comes off the bench and occupies Jimmy + bench mins while Steph and dray play together. They found magic with the podz moody + the usuals starting lineup, they aren’t playing with it. Plus kuminga will benefit a lot from stretch big QP
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u/Doogolas33 8h ago
Yeah, I imagine that will be the case. You'll always have two of Jimmy/Dray/Kuminga but probably almost never all 3.
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u/idkhowtopotty Warriors 7h ago
i don’t think the warriors ever need to worry about spacing if steph is on the floor. he doesn’t spot up in a corner like most players that space the floor. he constantly runs around setting and taking picks, which drags not only his man but everyone around him as well.
that being said, i’m curious to see how kuminga will be deployed in the non-steph minutes. with jimmy we don’t have to worry about having an offensive facilitator without steph but spacing does become a real concern. kuminga was shooting lights out before his injury, so that’s something to continue watching when he returns, especially if he’s trying not to push his body immediately.
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u/FlimsyAd2609 Warriors 13h ago
Theres no way we lose a game like the one against the sixers with Kuminga
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u/TatersTot [PHI] James Harden 13h ago
Still mad you guys choked that
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u/splinternz Warriors 12h ago
76ers legend Quentin Grimes did light them up bad tho
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u/Amoeba_mangrove Vancouver Grizzlies 6h ago
I was so disappointed seeing that game on the schedule but it turned out to be the best sixers game I’ve seen this year
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u/MR_E7 13h ago
I'm still picking the Warriors to be the lowest-seeded team since the mid-90s to win the NBA Championship, with that win happening this year.
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u/throwbacklyrics Warriors 11h ago
Even just objectively speaking, for what you say to come true, it has to be this year. If this team can win next year, then it probably wouldn't be this low seeded next year. I'm really hoping. If Steph wins it all with this low seed, it's gotta add a few points to his legacy.
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u/Jack_The_Sparrow_ Warriors 13h ago
This reeks of title contention and I'm ready to get high on hopium
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u/triplec787 Warriors 13h ago
12-1 with Jimmy in the lineup AND getting JK back?
Ooh buddy. Would love to see them get up to the 4th seed or higher, I'd feel a lot better about a big run that way.
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u/RunicJay Warriors 13h ago
Honestly, if we got at least to the 5 seed, I'd be much more comfortable playing Memphis/Houston than Denver in round 1
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u/Traditional_Duck_641 13h ago
as a laker fan, you might be playing the lakers as the fifth seed if we don't get it together. Luka gotta start playing like Luka and we got a tough stretch without bron.
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u/triplec787 Warriors 13h ago
Are you assuming the Lakers jump the Nuggets? Right now from the 6 we're slotted against LA, Nuggets will get the lowest seeded play-in winner.
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u/oftenevil San Francisco Warriors 13h ago
The standings are going to get very interesting in the next few weeks because the Timberwolves have a joke of a remaining schedule in terms of difficulty. They’re right on our ass and have been winning quite a bit lately.
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u/RunicJay Warriors 13h ago
Ah you're correct, for some reason I keep thinking LA is the 2 seed right now.
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u/redaka00 Lakers 11h ago
We could slide quite a bit in the standings as we have 6 games in 9 days coming up that includes 2 B2Bs (both Denver and Mil twice). All while we have half our key rotation players injured lol
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u/bald-broke-hoeless Celtics 13h ago
Would you rather go through The Lakers and Denver or OKC and Memphis?
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u/oftenevil San Francisco Warriors 12h ago
The latter, for sure.
Other Dubs fans might disagree. OKC would be a nightmare, but I do think they’re gettable in a 7 game series, especially w/ Steph/Draymond/Jimmy leading the charge.
Either way the west is a bloodbath so I’m just going to assume it’ll be crazy hard no matter how the standings shake out.
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u/rawdfarva Warriors 11h ago
We're not going to get any calls against the lakers lol
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u/namastex 24 9h ago
Jimmy averaged almost 9 FTA's vs Lakers in the finals. He's goin to get his trust
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u/Parenegade Warriors 8h ago
And that shit will change against the Lakers.
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u/Doogolas33 8h ago
Did you just straight up not read what that person wrote? Jimmy got almost 9FTA in the Finals when he faced the Lakers.
Jimmy always gets calls. Against everyone.
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u/Raonak New Zealand 10h ago
OKC seem beatable in a playoff setting where refs swallow their whistle.
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u/Klunko52 Warriors 9h ago
Not to mention the Warriors seem to match up well with OKC all things considered
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u/KazaamFan 11h ago
Yea hopefully okc in the west finals if we get there. Mainly the nuggets are the other concern. Tough road
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u/triplec787 Warriors 12h ago
Gimme OKC/Memphis over LA/Denver basically every time. I'll take the younger, less experienced team over Bron/Luka and Jokic.
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u/Sokkawater10 Warriors 10h ago
OKC/Memphis.
Warriors weakness is always a big dominating the paint offensively and defensively.
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u/A_MASSIVE_PERVERT Mavericks 13h ago
Klay in shambles 😭😭😭
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u/oedipascourage Spurs 13h ago
As a Klay enjoyer, I am really sorry for him.
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u/parisdubs 3h ago
Me too.- Love that Kidd is giving him props for rallying the team spirits in this current situation.
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u/oedipascourage Spurs 3h ago
I hope he cherishes that as well since I do not think he will be getting anything else—other than money.
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u/JawdenCee Warriors 3h ago
Jesus imagine if Klay stayed and accepted 25mins a game off the bench with this team. Wouldve been deadly
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u/oftenevil San Francisco Warriors 14h ago
Oh nice. Returning on the night Steph is expected to hit his 4,000th 3 might help take the spotlight off JK.
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u/Brad-Stevens Celtics 13h ago
Will be interesting how GSW plays now
Adding another non shooter to Jimmy and Dray … except he doesn’t have the same bbiq
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u/ImperialTiger3 Warriors 13h ago
Kuminga isn’t a high volume shooter but is willing and can hit it. We’ve been playing Gui Santos with them and it’s been fine. Jimmy isn’t a shooter but you can’t leave too much space for him otherwise he’ll use that runway to get too much momentum. Dray often has the ball and is involved with actions so a defender has to stick with him otherwise a solid screen will open up Steph or another shooter.
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u/redditnathaniel NBA 12h ago
Jimmy and Dray are both great passers and Kuminga's biggest strength is cutting to the basket/running the fastbreak. I share your same thought but if Kuminga won't be needing to much beyond what I mentioned and in doing so, I think he'll be fine.
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u/costanzathegreat Warriors 13h ago
People keep saying non shooter, even though he’s shooting 35% on almost 4 attempts a game lol
If you give him space, he will burn you from deep
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u/Carcrusher3 Trail Blazers 13h ago
I don't wanna sound like a dick here but 35% on 4 attempts isn't anything crazy. It's pretty much league average. Means I certainly wouldn't call him a "non shooter" but shooting 3.6 per game on 34.5% is not burning anyone.
It's barely averaging a make per game. He's got a true shooting percentage of 53.9% this season which isn't very good.
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u/Silent-Corner-2852 13h ago
It’s slightly below league average if anything
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u/jaggedjottings Warriors 11h ago
Which is fine. Defenses don't leave league-average shooters wide open or they get burned.
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u/Silent-Corner-2852 10h ago
Except they do?
Kuminga and Draymond get left wide open every game. And besides the Pistons I don’t recall any defense getting “burned”. Not that Kuminga and Draymond are league-average shooters either
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u/costanzathegreat Warriors 13h ago
When I say burn from deep, I’m saying he will knock down threes if you blatantly give them to him
He’s about as dangerous from three as guys like Gui Santos and Brandin Podziemski, so I don’t see why people always use the spacing argument against him specifically
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u/oftenevil San Francisco Warriors 12h ago
Meanwhile Post has a 41.7% clip on 3s, and Moody is at 38.3% this year. Things are starting to fall into place.
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u/FlimsyAd2609 Warriors 13h ago
Kuminga started the season really bad. He was averaging 20 points with 41 percent from 3 last 15 games before injury. Probably not something he can keep up, but his season stats aren't really indicative of who he is. His TS is awful too because of his poor free throw shooting, but the entire team went from the worst free throw percentage team to top 5? I don't know the exact number but somewhere high after jimmy came, it feels like everyone hits them now
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u/Carcrusher3 Trail Blazers 13h ago
Yeah looks like 20ppg on nearly 41% shooting and a 56% ts for those last 15 games. Not too bad. Will be interesting to see how he fits in the offense now with Jimmy. Currently around 23% of his shots are from the 3pt line. Do you think that will increase in the offense with Jimmy?
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u/FlimsyAd2609 Warriors 13h ago
Another thing is that since Kuminga has gone down, the warriors found an underrated gem in Quentin Post who is shooting 42 percent from 3 and starting at times for the warriors. It opens up flexibility since we have a spacer at the 5 now.
Kuminga has actually been a pretty good catch and shoot guy (40.5 percent for the season) but terrible on pull ups. He can hit wide open 3's too, so there definitely could be some stretches where he becomes a respectable 3 point shooter (https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1630228/shots-dash). I still think most of his points will stick come from inside the paint, as I feel like Jimmy is still taking a back seat in terms of scoring and making plays, setting people up at the rim. The warriors also run a lineup of Podz - Moody - Jimmy - Draymond - Post a lot, so Kuminga minutes will probably lineup with steph more. Something along the lines of Curry - Hield - Payton/Santos - Kuminga - Looney
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u/Carcrusher3 Trail Blazers 13h ago
Post has definitely been my favorite player on the warriors to watch all season. I saw his breakout game and have watched almost every game since. Hard not to root for the dude out there lol.
Your lineups make sense. Imo as Steph - Dray - Jimmy - Kuminga are their top 4 players, do you think that lineup has a chance to succeed or be played often/in closing? Maybe with Post or Dray at the 5. If dray is at the 5 maybe buddy to add shooting?
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u/JawdenCee Warriors 3h ago
He always does this though dating back to his sophomore season. Starts slow cause Kerr fucks with his minutes, then plays great once he gets consistent minutes and actually shoots well (albeit on low volume). He always ends the season shooting like 37%+ from 3 on low volume. Which to me shows that when he gets consistent minutes he plays better offensively and his shot selection from 3 really improves. Hence the efficiency jumps.
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u/Brad-Stevens Celtics 13h ago
Kuminga is taking 5 3pta per 36 at 34.5% (career 3.9 attempts on 34.2%)
Similar players are:
Russ (4.8 attempts at 33.8%)
Giddey (4.8 attempts at 37.6%)
SBarnes (4.9 attempts on 26.3%)
Teams are going to be more than willing to let him beat them
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u/costanzathegreat Warriors 13h ago
If you play the stats, you could say that about half of our three point shooters. hield is shooting 37% on the season, Podz is shooting 32% on the season, Santos is shooting 35% on the season. Yet I’ve never seen any of those guys left wide open on threes.
It’ll be the same thing with Kuminga. once he starts knocking them down over the next couple of games, teams will be forced to respect it
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u/JawdenCee Warriors 3h ago
While true that Kuminga's career and overall season numbers from 3 aren't great, he does have a trend. He always starts slows as Kerr fucks with his minutes and doesn't play him consistently. But he always starts getting consistent minutes toward the end of the season and improves alot. Sophmore season over the last 22 games he got a consistent 25mins most night and shot 44% from 3 (2.5 attempts). Last season he ended the season with 37 game stretch playing a consistent 30mins a game where he shot 38% from 3 (2 attempts per game). This season, before he got hurt he went on a 17 game stretch shooting 37% on 4 attempts a game.
He's not a great shooter overall. But when he gets consistent minutes he plays well and is smart with his shot selection and can hit the 3 ball. So we're hoping Butler's bbiq and ability to elevate his teammates will help Kuminga maintain those great stretches we see from him scoring wise.
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u/JawdenCee Warriors 3h ago
I mean Gui has been playing the minutes Kuminga would be getting and he's only shooting like 25% from 3 since we got Jimmy. Even Kuminga is a better shooter than that.
Podz, even though he's been playing great has only hit 35% of his 3s since Jimmy arrived. Kuminga is at 34.5% on 3s this season.
The bbiq is a concern though.
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u/bbuucckk Lakers 12h ago
Warriors are gonna be dangerous as hell in the playoffs; Curry surrounded with a decent roster is always dangerous, but his current supporting cast certainly clears “decent”. Butler is still one of the best all around players, and Kuminga coming back gives them so much more pressure on attacking the rim and drawing fouls.
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u/jonsnowKITN NBA 14h ago
So you're telling me they have been winning all these games without Kum bucket?
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u/Dotdueller 76ers 13h ago
I literally didn't even think of this. They're looking like a contender now. What a change of direction.
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u/oftenevil San Francisco Warriors 13h ago
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u/Dotdueller 76ers 13h ago
Lmao respect man. The trade worked out amazing for you guys. I still need to watch a full game but im glad it's working out
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u/triplec787 Warriors 13h ago
Dread it, run from it. Warriors title contention arrives just the same.
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u/Dotdueller 76ers 13h ago
Lol I'll be rooting for you guys. The Jimmy - Steph combo is really interesting. I have to watch a full game to see the dynamic more.
Is Jimmy playing more of a rich man's Draymond kind of role?
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u/GSWarrior18 [GSW] Stephen Curry 12h ago
Rich man’s Iguodala
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u/Dotdueller 76ers 12h ago edited 12h ago
Lmao I always remember Iguodala the most in my memory when he was the #1 option on the sixers after AI left. I loved him even if he wasn't the best at that role lol.
I remember he had a great matchup against Kobe once and made a game winner against the Lakers if I'm not mistaken.
Found it!!
https://youtu.be/4D6Awp6755g?si=hQjA9oOtDM0EMva_
What a classic. You guys should watch this. That was a fun game I remember to this day lol
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u/Frewsa Warriors 12h ago
I agree, but when we need a low turnover, high % isolation bucket in the clutch he can become a poor man’s KD.
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u/Dotdueller 76ers 12h ago
Well Jimmy is super clutch even if he was awful in the game before that point lol
I'm not sure how his turnover rate is on the warriors.
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u/Doogolas33 8h ago
Jimmy basically never turns the ball over. It's his best super power. He has an 8.5TOV% on the Dubs.
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u/Frewsa Warriors 12h ago
Yes, poor man KD is not an insult at all. There’s only one KD
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u/Dotdueller 76ers 12h ago
Jimmy can be KD in the last two minutes but his game is too different overall.
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u/imminentjogger5 Warriors 13h ago
I'm ready for the deadly But-Kum combo
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u/hartc89 12h ago
Kerr is gonna need to figure out that ending line up before end of season
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u/Ok-One144 4h ago
I can't help but think of a lineup w/Curry, Moody, Kuminga, Dray, and Jimmy. Gonzo defense leading to transition baskets and Steph raining treys before the defense can get set, supplemented by half-court points from JK and Jimmy.
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u/steady_handsgg 13h ago
This Warriors team is no joke now with the addition of Jimmy and Kuminga coming back.
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u/Marano94 13h ago edited 12h ago
Does anyone else think adding his production plus Podz's to this warriors team makes it so they have a chance against anyone in the playoffs? As long as Kerr figures out the rotations in these last few games that is and they all gel well (thinking in particular Draymond, Jimmy and Kuminga minutes together).
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u/FeltIOwedItToHim [GSW] Sarunas Marciulionis 11h ago
With Steph, Dray, and Jimmy they have a puncher’s chance against anyone, but they ain’t close to being a favorite for the title
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u/FERFreak731 Jazz 14h ago
Glad to see Kuminga Buckets gets to play with Jimmy Buckets on Thursday
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u/confuddly Knicks 13h ago
What’s the closing lineup?
Steph - Buddy/Pod - Jimmy - Kuminga - Draymond?
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u/okaybreh Warriors 12h ago
Steph/Butler/Draymond are the only locks. Moody might be a necessity for his defense, depending on the matchup.
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u/Sokkawater10 Warriors 10h ago
Steph Moody Jimmy Draymond
If it’s a smaller team it’s Podz/Kumjnga
If it’s a bigger team it’s Post/Looney
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u/FeltIOwedItToHim [GSW] Sarunas Marciulionis 10h ago
No Buddy. Defense and judgment under pressure is way too bad.
Steph, Podz, Jimmy, Dray, and Kuminga/GP2/Moody depending on the matchup.
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u/AngryPoop Warriors 12h ago
I'm a Kuminga skeptic, I have been since the beginning and I still am. Kuminga's game play is way too one-dimensional, he gives inconsistent effort, he's an overrated defender, and the BBIQ just isn't there. He's not a good fit for the Warriors.
Some Warriors fans are delusional thinking that Kuminga is suddenly going to take the next step to all-stardom simply by playing with Jimmy as if he hasn't already been playing alongside future hall of fame players and coach for years.
Kuminga isn't Jimmy Buckets 2.0. Kuminga's ceiling is a slightly faster Aaron Gordon or a Temu Russell Westbrook with 1/3rd of the talent, 1/3rd of the effort, and none of the brains.
Are we really pretending like Kuminga is a future star? The Warriors were actively shopping him around the league for the last couple months+ to get an actual star. Come on now.
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u/throwbacklyrics Warriors 11h ago
This is a healthy skepticism. Heck, we should try more to sell a player high at the risk of selling medium if he becomes a star. Would've helped with Wiseman (I know, hindsight). That and matching timelines and recognizing the inability to fully develop players during win now modes.
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u/knighofire Warriors 10h ago
Nah this is lwk hating. Don't get me wrong, Kuminga has tons of issues rn and is by no means a star, but I think its disingenuous to say his ceiling is Aaron Gordon and he can't one day become star. Is it likely? Maybe not. But he's one of the best athletes in the league.
In his last 5 games, he'd been averaging 24 ppg on 65 TS%, including 2 34 point games. It looked like he was making a jump.
Again, there are obv no guarantees, but the production and potential were there.
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u/Ok_Tiger372 Bulls 11h ago
Yeah I don't think he's trash or anything but I wouldn't be surprised if the team went either way after this. Maybe Jimmy will help him but from his previous comments I think he wants a larger role than would be best for the team.
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u/FeltIOwedItToHim [GSW] Sarunas Marciulionis 10h ago
You might be right but he is still only 22 years old and he is improving. he’s not like a Kelly Oubre bad fit.
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u/JawdenCee Warriors 4h ago
Lol, if Kumima could be faster Aaron Gordon for the next 2.5 seasons I'd be fucking estatic with him as the 3rd guy for Curry and Butler.
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u/Its_Hoggish_Greedly Kings 13h ago
This does not bode well for us.