Jonathan Kuminga has been unhappy with his coach, his playing time, his contract status and his organization for years. Once he became eligible to be traded on Thursday, his trade demand was inevitable.
The 23-year-old forward signed a two-year contract last summer after his restricted free agency dragged out until nearly the start of the season, making him untradeable until Jan. 15. Now that he finally is, Kuminga wants out — but he once again has to wait on his team to make a deal.
Jonathan Kuminga has been unhappy for years
Kuminga has been in a difficult situation for his entire career after the Golden State Warriors selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft, then made a surprising run to the 2022 title. Team owner Joe Lacob insisted the team would pursue a “two timelines” approach, developing young players while leaning on veterans Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
That didn’t work in practice, with No. 2 pick James Wiseman traded away in his third injury-plagued season and Kuminga failing to earn regular playing time from head coach Steve Kerr. The young forward provided dynamic scoring and athleticism not present on the rest of the roster, but the team’s acquisition of Jimmy Butler (while Kuminga was out with an injury for two months) blocked him.
When Kuminga was benched for most of the Warriors’ first-round win over the Houston Rockets last season, he was visibly frustrated. After Curry was injured in Game 1 of the second-round series, Kuminga averaged 22.3 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves for the rest of the series, but the Warriors lost every game.
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