Getty Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody pose for photos during the Golden State Warriors' 2021 media day.
The Golden State Warriors made waves with their unusual, dual-timeline approach to roster construction last season. While most clubs are either going all-in on the title pursuit with a veteran core or building from the ground up with youth, the Dubs managed to snag the chip while threading the needle between those two concepts.
So, even as the team’s core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green gets older, fans have high hopes that the Warriors will remain in the contender’s circle for many years to come.
Golden State has an embarrassment of riches in the hot, young prospect department, with Jordan Poole and former No. 2 pick James Wiseman serving as headliners. However, Jonathan Kuminga may have the biggest two-way potential of the bunch. In March, Warriors assistant Bruce Fraser described the 19-year-old as a “very exciting almost-no-ceiling type player.”
However, one hoops pundit believes that Kuminga may be selling himself and his organization short in his attempt to make good on that massive potential.
Stephen A Sounds Off
While discussing the Kevin Durant situation on First Take on Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith expressed doubt that a team that’s not the Warriors can actually win the title next season, regardless of where the 12-time All-Star ends up playing.
Even as he fawned over the Dubs, though, Smith made it clear that he has some reservations about what Kuminga will be bringing to the table.
“I expect [Moses] Moody and [James] Wiseman to be significant. I’m worried about Kuminga. I’m hearing too many things about him off the court in terms of his head. The level of discipline he lacks. You understand? Some of the foolishness,” Smith said.
“I’m not getting in his personal business; I’m not saying nothing like that. I’m talking attitude, I’m not talking actions. I’m saying that attitude, the level of focus, commitment, determination, just putting your head down — doing the work. 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.”
As it happens, this isn’t the first time someone has questioned Kuminga’s drive this offseason. One of his own teammates famously did the same last month.
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Kuminga’s Lousy Summer League Debut
Given the way in which he acquitted himself down the stretch of the 2021-22 regular season, many were expecting Kuminga to absolutely dominate the competition in summer league. That ended up not being what happened, though, and his Las Vegas debut was particularly rough.
In 24 minutes of play, Kuminga finished with just four points and two rebounds. Along the way, he missed his first six shots — including a dunk attempt — and finished 0-for-4 from deep. Afterward, Kuminga got lit up by Green.
“I’m going to say this publicly because I said it to his face,” Green later said on his podcast. “I thought Jonathan Kuminga was so, so, so bad in the game that I went to when they were playing the New York Knicks. I thought he was very, very bad. He didn’t look engaged.”
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