Report: Warriors kept Jonathan Kuminga but never fully committed to him

The Jonathan Kuminga era in Golden State didn’t end with a bang. It ended with exhaustion.

In a deeply reported piece for ESPN, Anthony Slater takes one last look at the unraveling relationship between Kuminga and the Warriors, a four-and-a-half-year stretch that quietly devolved into mistrust, frustration, and what multiple sources described as petty grievances on both sides.

It wasn’t doomed from Day One. But one decision lingered over everything. The Warriors took Kuminga seventh overall in 2021 instead of Franz Wagner, and Slater writes that choice became a “central tension point” inside the organization.

With Steve Kerr tied up with Team USA that summer, several coaches who attended Wagner’s workout believed he fit Kerr’s system better.

Ownership saw it differently. Slater reports Joe Lacob was among those strongly in favor of Kuminga, and the pick became a signature example of Lacob’s increased personnel influence post-Kevin Durant.

That influence followed Kuminga. Some around the league believed Lacob’s reluctance to trade him later stemmed from wanting to be proven right. Others pushed back.

“Joe gets outsized blame,” one source told ESPN. “Complex situation. There was a ton of indecision.”

Things frayed publicly and privately. Kuminga and his agent felt Kerr’s comments carried subtle jabs. When Kerr explained a DNP by saying, “Happens to everyone in the league, other than the stars,” Kuminga bristled.

“That’s the s–t I’m talking about,” he said. “Why’s he gotta say that?”

Kerr often cited role players like Shawn Marion and Aaron Gordon as models. Kuminga believed he was capable of more. The team countered with efficiency data and accused his camp of emphasizing the wrong skill work.

By December, the disconnect was complete. Slater reports Kuminga packed up his Bay Area home and declined multiple chances to enter games, including a nationally televised matchup against Oklahoma City. The Warriors saw it as quitting. Kuminga saw it as setting him up to fail.

One ally stood out: Jimmy Butler, whom Kuminga viewed as a mentor. Butler, sources say, believed there was a double standard in how Kuminga was treated.

In the end, both sides needed out. The separation came late. But by then, the relationship had already been gone for a while.