Jonathan Kuminga Might Have Sat Out Recent Game on Purpose

Steve Kerr has kept Jonathan Kuminga out of the rotation for weeks. Everyone knows that Kuminga is on the trade block, and Kerr has been yanking around his playing time since Kuminga was drafted. Maybe it is playing style or personal clashes, but Kuminga has never been able to fully gain Kerr’s trust. That is probably part of the reason why the Warriors want to trade him so badly. 

Recently, all the best players on the Warriors’ roster were forced to miss a game, and everyone expected Kuminga to finally get some minutes. Instead, he was a late-game scratch with a mysterious back injury. 

Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints recently reported on the Kuminga situation. 

“Kuminga and his camp believe it is in his best interest to stay ready behind the scenes and no longer let Kerr's decisions regarding the young forward's minutes impact his value in the eyes of other teams that have interest in him around the league. Not to mention, Kuminga's side doesn't want to risk him getting injured.

Many believe this is the reason Kuminga decided not to play recently, despite the Warriors' lengthy injury report for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 2. Kuminga was ruled out of this game with a back injury that Kerr didn't seem to have any update or details on in his postgame comments.”

Sitting out because you are afraid of ruining your trade value is not the best look. Kuminga has obviously had one foot out the door since last season. Maybe in the end it will benefit him; he will be healthy and get shipped to a new team. However, if you're a team thinking about trading for a young player, would you want to trade for someone who quit on their team and is more interested in their own paycheck than the team’s success?