Getty Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga reacts during a summer league bout with the San Antonio Spurs.
Throughout their championship run last season — and especially after they actually brought home the big trophy — the Golden State Warriors were praised for their dual-timeline approach to roster construction. However, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was there to rain on the Dubs’ parade last month with a biting report on one of the team’s prized youngsters.
“I’m worried about [Jonathan] Kuminga,” Smith said on First Take. “I’m hearing too many things about him off the court in terms of his head. The level of discipline that he lacks… I’m hearing that he’s shortchanging the Warriors in that regard, and he gotta get his act together because I’m a Jonathan Kuminga fan.”
Given the excitement that the Dub Nation denizens have about Kuminga, Smith’s musings were akin to a gut punch. In short order, though, Steve Kerr, Andre Iguodala and others were calling his reporting on the situation into question.
Flash forward to now, and a team insider has lent additional context to Smith’s controversial report.
Thompson Speaks Out on Warriors’ Kuminga
The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson was probed for his assessment of the Kuminga situation during a Wednesday appearance on KNBR‘s Murph & Mac show. And while the longtime Dubs reporter conceded that the baller has some growing up to do, he opined that Smith’s report was really much ado about nothing.
“I don’t think that’s anything unique,” Thompson said. “No. 1, the idea that a 19-year-old might have maturity issues… That’s the nature of being young in the NBA.
“I think you hear the immature part, and you think like he’s being a problem, you can’t coach him, listen to him, and I think that’s the difficulty. Once you start labeling someone as immature, there comes these other connotations.”
So, what is actually going on with the former No. 7 overall pick? This is what Thompson believes:
“I think the immaturity is him managing this immense talent he has with the limited role he has, and that’s a very natural and normal thing. He feels like ‘I can be great, I’m going to be great, I have all of this’, and they are just like ‘Hey, man, we just need you to run the floor hard and cut right now.’”
Doing It a Different Way
Under normal circumstances, players entering the league from the top half of the draft lottery are starting off in very specific situations. Essentially, they’re being pegged as potential cornerstones and franchise saviors by rebuilding teams that are years away from winning.
Kuminga came into a different situation, though, with a dynasty-level team in the Dubs. So, his experience is night-and-day different from that of your average lottery pick. As Thompson sees it, that reality plays into Smith’s narrative and the response to it.
“He’s watching other people around the league, who he probably feels like he’s better than, getting all the minutes and all the shots, and he’s trying to learn how to win,” Thompson continued. “So Andre’s saying ‘Don’t try to paint him as a bad guy. We’re teaching him how to win’, and that’s a difficult thing for any young guy. They’re all learning it.
“To me when you talk about immaturity, he’s just got to learn how to win. He’s just got to learn what to value on the court and what matters.”