Getty Jonathan Kuminga drives the ball during a 2021 preseason game.
The Golden State Warriors are one of the deepest teams in the NBA, and that advantage is likely only to grow as the season progresses.
Part of the Dubs’ team evolution in this regard will be reliant on the personal evolution of rookie lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga, who made his G League debut for the Santa Cruz Warriors over the weekend.
After playing seven mop up minutes for the actual Warriors in Friday night’s blowout home win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Kuminga made the jaunt down to Santa Cruz for his initial appearance with the Dubs’ version of a minor league squad Saturday evening, November 6.
The NBA G League Twitter account posted a 48-second highlight reel of Kuminga’s top moments, after the young player had appeared in 13 games for G League Ignite last year before being drafted.
He’s back! 🤟
Ignite alum @JonathanKuming6 put up 15 pts, 6 reb, and 4 ast tonight for Santa Cruz.
“He’s back! 🤟,” NBA G League tweeted. “Ignite alum @JonathanKuming6 put up 15 pts, 6 reb, and 4 ast tonight for Santa Cruz.”
Kerr Talks up Kuminga, Says Rookie Figuring Himself Out
GettyGolden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr during the team’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 19, 2021.
The 19-year-old Congolese rookie put up a solid stat line Saturday, showing both range from deep and athleticism around the rim. Though, his performance did lack a certain measure of efficiency.
The 6-foot, 7-inch, 225-pound forward was 4-of-13 shooting from the field in his team’s 104-92 loss to Stockton. But Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who was in attendance for the game, said more important than Kuminga’s traditional stat line or his next-level efficiency numbers were simply the repetition and experience the G League can provide.
The No. 7 pick in the most recent NBA Draft missed the first five games of the regular season as he recovered from a meniscus injury suffered during the preseason.
“It’s great for him to be here,” said Kerr, who spoke to the Santa Cruz Warriors broadcast team during game action. “He needs all the playing time he can get. And he’s such a talented young (player), and it’s so fun to see him out here. He just needs reps. He’s big, strong, got a good feel for passing. I just think he’s trying to figure out what kind of player he is, and that’s what we’re trying to help him figure out.”
Warriors Boast Best Depth in All of NBA
GettyKlay Thompson reacts to a play during the 2019 NBA Finals.
Heading into Monday, November 9, the Warriors stand alone atop the Western Conference with a record of 8-1. They currently hold the highest win percentage of any franchise and are the only NBA team with a sole loss to their name.
And things are only going to get better.
All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson is expected back around Christmas, or potentially January of 2022. Sophomore big man James Wiseman, the No. 2 pick from the NBA Draft two years ago, is expected back from a meniscus injury even before that.
The return of Thompson and Wiseman, who likely will both eventually resume their places as starters for Golden State, is just the beginning of additions to a roster that NBA analyst Bill Simmons, of The Ringer, believes is arguably the deepest in the entire league.
“They’re 10 deep right now. That does not include Klay Thompson. That does not include the second pick in the draft from a year and a half ago, James Wiseman,” Simmons said Thursday in an edition of his popular self-named podcast. “It does not include the seventh and fourteenth picks from this year’s draft, Kuminga and Moody. Somehow, they’re still 10 deep.”
As anyone reading this article likely already knows, only five players can be on the floor at any given time for one team. And while the regular season lends itself to a rotation that runs as high as 10 players, the NBA Playoffs typically see even the deepest teams trim their rotations to eight or nine players, at the maximum.
As Simmons pointed out, the Warriors have an embarrassment of riches and will be able to reach potentially 14-deep on their roster at points during the season, assuming everyone remains healthy. Because of this construction, the Dubs have a trade to make if they want it.
A combination of young assets, forward Andrew Wiggins’ $30 million-plus contract to make the money work, and the inevitability of disgruntled players on underperforming teams that pop up every single season creates an equation by which the Dubs can trade up in a “win-now” move.
Adding yet another star to the Big 3 of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and the soon-to-return Thompson, which would remain supplemented by a stable of strong young players regardless of what any potential trade might look like, renders the Warriors legitimate contenders for their fourth NBA title in the current era.
Just one more reason it’s great to be a Warriors fan in 2021-22.
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Dubs’ Kuminga Shines in G League Debut, Dubs Build Out Top NBA Depth