After a lengthy saga, Jonathan Kuminga was finally traded from the Golden State Warriors to the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. In his first game with the Hawks a 119-98 win over Trae Young’s Washington Wizards, Kuminga logged 27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 24 minutes. Considering how tumultuous his time with the Warriors was, this was great to see — especially because Kuminga is only 23 years old, and the sky is the limit for the young forward.
Kuminga started off so promising for Golden State, so it’s great to see that a change of scenery seemed to help his game.
On his podcast, Draymond Green had this to say:
“Incredible, incredible game.
JK was just getting out and running. [When the Hawks are] hitting him in transition, he gets to it. Once he gets downhill and he gets dunks, then the three-ball starts falling…Just a beautiful game and I’m happy to see it.
I actually talked to him the night before on FaceTime. I’m like, “Man, when are you playing?” He’s like, “I’m at it tomorrow, big bro. I’m back tomorrow night.” I’m like, “Let’s get it.” And, you know, the young fella came out with 27 [points]. What a great debut. Happy to see him playing. Happy to see him smiling.”
With a new young core emerging for the Hawks following Trae Young’s departure to the Washington Wizards, there’s a chance that Kuminga may thrive in a starting role, or at least lead the bench mob.
“I just want to see the young fella keep it going,” Green said. “I know he will. Just continue to get better man. Take advantage of the opportunity. New beginnings don’t come around often, so you’ve got to take advantage of them when you get them.”
