Steve Kerr Explains His Benching Of Jonathan Kuminga

It is hard to imagine that a player with Jonathan Kuminga’s talent can’t help a .500 team in the Western Conference. However, that’s what the Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr seems to believe. He’s benched a healthy Kuminga for the last ten or so games.

Kuminga was having a career year earlier in the season for the Warriors, and even with very limited minutes of late, he is still averaging career highs in rebounds and assists per game. And yet Kuminga still can’t get into Kerr’s rotation, even with the coach playing 12 or 13 players some nights.

Kerr was recently asked about Kuminga’s lack of playing time, and he explained why it is difficult for him to get Kuminga onto the floor. 

"It's tough because he's not really a short-minute player. I played a bunch of guys for eight to 10 minutes. JK is a guy who needs his rhythm. He's not like a Gui (Santos) who's going to come in or Pat (Spencer) and just fly around and play with great energy for four minutes and come out. He needs some rhythm. He always has to stay ready. There's a pathway there, but right now, it's not there. But things change quickly in the NBA."

Kuminga certainly does thrive when given more opportunity. Kerr doesn’t believe that giving him those minutes is worth it. 

Could Kuminga get on the floor if he were willing to play more like Santos or Spencer? Probably. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t seem to be in his DNA. That’s probably why Kuminga is likely to get traded before the deadline. Until Kuminga can learn how to fit into Kerr’s system, he will be stuck on the bench and on the trade block.