Things have been bleak for the Golden State Warriors lately, and there’s no one cure for what ails them. But there are a few things they can do to address some of their issues.
One of them is remarkably
simple: play Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga has been absent from the rotation for three straight games, and that started out nicely. The Warriors destroyed the Chicago Bulls with both Steph Curry and Draymond Green sidelined, and the Strength in Numbers, ball-movement laden offense gave fans some glimmers of false hope.
It all came crashing down, quickly. Despite Curry’s return — and utter brilliance — the Warriors lost their next two games, to the Anthony Edwards-less Minnesota Timberwolves and the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bulls win was a feel-good story, but the subsequent losses were a stark reminder: you can’t get far hoping that scrappiness and pressing the right buttons will allow your whole to exceed the sum of your parts. It fades quickly.
And then you need talent.
Here are some minute totals for the last three games:
Pat Spencer: 62 minutes, 11 seconds
Gui Santos: 32 minutes, 18 seconds
Jonathan Kuminga: 0 minutes, 0 seconds
Spencer has earned a role going forward, and Santos is a great energy bench piece who can help the team in certain situations. But a theme has emerged in watching the Warriors lose games against mediocre squads: they don’t look athletic enough, and they don’t look talented enough. And for all his warts, Kuminga addresses both of those issues.
While a trade is feeling increasingly inevitable, the fact remains that, until a move is made, the best version of the Warriors includes Kuminga. You could make the case that the worst version of the Warriors also includes Kuminga, but who cares? The most aggressively mediocre version of the Warriors — the team we’re witnessing right now — will get the Warriors nowhere. They need to strive to actually be a good team, even if the risk is being a bad one. It certainly beats striving for mediocrity.
Strength in numbers is ideal, but only as the complement to sufficient talent. Vibes and energy and chemistry can be difference-makers, but only if the requisite talent is already in place. There’s a reason the lower-seeded teams often pull off an upset in March Madness, but rarely ever make a sustained run.
Kuminga is one of the Warriors most talented players, in nearly every phase of the game. He’s one of their most talented scorers, one of their most talented defenders, arguably their most talented rebounder, and certainly their most talented athlete. They won’t get anywhere without his reward, so the risk is mostly irrelevant.
Thankfully, Steve Kerr seems to agree. Sometime between me starting and finishing this article, the Warriors coach all but guaranteed that the fifth-year wing will return to the rotation for Thursday’s game, telling reporters, “I can tell you JK’s been great this last week. As he’s been out of the rotation, he’s working really hard and I’m going to reward that. He needs to be back out there.”
It won’t always be pretty. But if the Warriors want to have any chance of success, then it’s the necessary move.
