Embattled Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has grown tired of being told to “stay ready.”
“No matter the circumstances I’m in, always got to stay ready,” Kuminga said, per Clutchpoints, after he made his series debut against the Houston Rockets in Game 2 following Jimmy Butler‘s pelvis contusion. “But I feel like I’ve been ready. I hate the fact that everybody gets to tell me every other time, ‘be ready, be ready,’ you know? Because in my mental and my mindset, I’m ready. The more you tell me get ready, get ready, it’s kind of irritating, but I’m ready.”
While Kuminga said he left like ready for the moment when Golden State coach Steve Kerr was forced to re-insert him into the rotation, his play did not inspire confidence in their 109-94 loss in Game 2.
The 22-year-old forward shot 4-for-12 from the field for 11 points. Worse, he was minus-3 in 26 minutes of court time. Though he sank two catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, he also missed three. He also flubbed five of seven attempts inside the paint — an area where he showed plenty of promise before a significant ankle injury that caused him to miss 31 games and before his three straight DNPs.
Jonathan Kuminga’s Confidence Dips with DNPs
His confidence broken, Kuminga looked lost.
“It wasn’t all great,” Kuminga bluntly said of his comeback game. “I feel like I could have done better. I’m just trying to figure out where to be, what to do, how can I play — just things like that. We did not end up winning, but so far I feel like I just went out and played hard.”
Kuminga averaged 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in four games against the Rockets in the regular season. It’s his second-highest scoring average against any single opponent this season.
That’s the version the Warriors need from him if Butler misses Game 3 because of his injury.
From Lottery Pick to Fringe Rotation Player
But with no defined role, Kuminga admitted it’s difficult to find a rhythm on the court.
“I work out every day. I played with some of the guys here the other day and I just try to have a good spirit every single day. The more my spirit is where I want, that’s how I stay ready,” Kuminga said. “It is tough, for any player it’s going to be tough, but what am I going to do about it. At the end of the day, what are you going to do about it?
“It’s like I say, you just got to stay ready. Whenever your moment happens, it’s going to happen. But for me it’s kind of… like tough. There’s really nothing I can do about it. You know, can’t complain about it, can’t do anything about it. If I don’t play, it’s the coach’s decision.”
His status for Game 3 depends on Butler’s availability. It would have been a fourth straight DNP for Kuminga had Butler not suffered the injury in the opening quarter of Game 2. That is the harsh reality Kuminga is staring at while his next NBA contract is on the line.
“I try not to even think about why I’m not playing because the more I think about that, the more I’m just not going to see right in my head,” Kuminga said. “So I just block all that noise and just stay focused on whenever I get my chance.”
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Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga Gets Real on Frustration with Playing Time