Jonathan Kuminga Is In Basketball Purgatory | Defector

"It's hard to pinpoint the moment that Jonathan Kuminga first became disenchanted with the Golden State Warriors and their management, so we will have to start the clock with the trade demand that sparked the latest stage in their preposterous standoff. By that reckoning this is merely Day Two of Kuminga Held Hostage, and yes, it's already stupid. But we all knew it would be."

"Kuminga and the Warriors have been a mismatched set almost since the day he was drafted. That was five years ago, and the only thing that has actually been accomplished over the course of that relationship is that Kuminga has four years into his pension. He was a central part of the team's two-track plan to introduce a wave of young players who would allow them to stay at contender level after Stephen Curry ascends into heaven/fades into retirement;"

"The Warriors have only succeeded in getting three years older, Wiseman has already been traded twice and has had health issues throughout his career, and Moody has slowly become a reliable 24-minutes-per-game guy, for what that may be worth. Curry, for his part, remains every bit the Stephen Curry he was when the succession plan was first devised. But Kuminga, who has more games and minutes logged than either Moody or Wiseman, long ago became disenchanted"

Jonathan Kuminga demanded a trade after becoming disenchanted with the Golden State Warriors and their management. The relationship between Kuminga and the Warriors has been mismatched since he was drafted five years ago, with limited on-court development beyond his accruing four years into his pension. Kuminga was part of a youth succession plan including James Wiseman and Moses Moody that failed as Wiseman encountered health problems and trades while Moody settled into a limited role. Stephen Curry remains dominant, undermining the need for a rapid succession. Kuminga resents Steve Kerr’s insistence that he conform to the coach’s system and seeks a situation to maximize his own play.

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