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As if another losing streak isn’t enough bad news to the Golden State Warriors fans, an orthopedic doctor has given them more reason to get worried about Jonathan Kuminga‘s injury.
Dr. Nirav Pandya, a professor at the Orthopedic Surgery department of the University of California, San Francisco and director of sports medicine at Benioff Children’s Hospital, said Kuminga could miss more than three weeks.
“Anytime you have a player who at the time of injury, the team’s already saying, ‘Hey, this is a severe injury.’ It’s a little bit more significant,” Dr. Pandya said on “Willard and Dibs” show on 95.7 The Game on January 8. “Even before you get an MRI, based on how he looks, you do get a little bit more concerned.
And when you see this three-week re-evaluation timeline, it doesn’t mean typically, that he’s going to be quote, unquote, playing in three weeks. It could be another three to four weeks afterward. So when you get these more moderate to severe sprains, you’re looking at six weeks.”
Dr. Pandya noted that Kuminga’s injury could have an impact on his performance when he returns as he’s the type of player who relies on his explosiveness.
“So if there’s any potential that he was going to be moved at the trade deadline, it’s hard to know how he’s going to be playing because teams are going to wait to see what he’s doing on the court,” Dr. Pandya added. “So you worry about how he’s going to do. He’s young, He’s healthy. It’s not a three-month-long injury but you do get a little bit concerned how this is going to potentially linger as the rest of the season goes.”
Warriors Want to Keep Jonathan Kuminga
Despite the wide gap between Kuminga and the Warriors in their extension negotiation in the offseason, the fourth-year forward remains confident about his future in Golden State.
“I feel good,” Kuminga said, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “You never know what’s going to happen, but I’m pretty confident this is where I’m at.”
That’s because the Warriors are keen on keeping Kuminga, per The Athletic, despite the Miami Heat showing interest in him in a potential trade for their disgruntled star Jimmy Butler.
According to ClutchPoint’s Brett Siegel, the Heat want Kuminga in any Warriors trade package to land Butler.
“The Warriors and Heat have held discussions with one another regarding Butler this season, league sources confirmed,” Siegel reported on Friday, January 3. “Although mutual interest between Butler and Golden State exists, Miami has made it clear that Jonathan Kuminga is a player they would want to be included in the framework of a potential deal for their superstar forward.”
Inflection Point for the Warriors
Kuminga’s lenghty absence has already taking its toll on the Warriors, who are at an inflection point with the trade deadline just less than a month away.
Without Kumimga, they were blown out by two teams who were missing their top stars — 114-98 to the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat on January 7 and 129-99 to the De’Aaron Fox-less Sacramento Kings on January 5 — to move down to 10th place in the Western Conference with 18-18 record.
Losing six of their last 21 games is rock-bottom for the Warriors, whose 12-3 start seems like a distant past.
“I honestly have no idea,” Warriors star Stephen Curry told reporters when asked how the Warriors can fix their offensive woes. “We’ll try to figure it out. But I don’t have an answer right now.”
Curry is exasperated. He’s turning 37 in March.
With his championship window rapidly closing, will the Warriors relent on giving up Kuminga to give Curry a secondary star like Butler for one more title shot?
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