Warriors' Owner Made Huge Mistake in Backing Kuminga

The Golden State Warriors took a gamble when they drafted Jonathan Kuminga with the 7th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Kuminga was an unproven prospect with tantalizing upside, but it was known that he wasn’t NBA-ready when the Warriors took him. This pick was extremely controversial at the time and still is today. Instead of picking a player like Franz Wagner, who was much more polished and ready to contribute immediately, they chose to gamble on the upside of Kuminga. 

All reports indicate that this idea was widely led by the Warriors’ loud and proud owner, Joe Lacob. 

A recent ESPN article dove more deeply into the dynamics that Luminga being Lacob's idea created. 

“The decision to draft Kuminga over Wagner, who has averaged at least 20 points per game the past three seasons, became a central tension point across the organization, a signature example of Lacob's personnel meddling in the post-Kevin Durant transition years, aiming for, as team sources said, style over the substance that made the dynasty teams hum.

In the seasons that followed, team sources theorized that Lacob's outward public belief in Kuminga and his animated celebrations of Kuminga's big moments stemmed from his desire to be proved correct in his original assessment. It's also why those sources believed Lacob had a difficult time sending out Kuminga in potential trades."

Lacob made a mistake in pushing to draft Kuminga. If the Warriors had taken Franz Wagner instead, the entire organization might be in a very different place right now. That being said, people make mistakes like this all the time. 

What truly ruined the Kuminga situation was that Lacob’s ego wouldn’t let him admit that he was wrong. While Warriors coaches and front office members wanted to sell high when Kuminga had value around the league, Lacob didn’t allow it. In the end, Lacob being unwilling to give up on Kuminga cost the team Kuminga, his trade value, and the potential to add a real complementary player for the latter half of Curry’s career.