Jonathan Kuminga’s spectacular viral highlights prove he has NBA star potential.
But is he hurting the Warriors’ championship aspirations this season?
That’s the hypothesis Bill Simmons posited to Ryen Russillo when discussing the slumping Warriors on his latest episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast."
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“And then they have this Kuminga thing where they have to play him,” Simmons stated. “He’s breathtaking. You have to play him.”
And listening to those within the Warriors’ franchise and the reaction of Dub Nation on social media, there’s full agreement with Simmons' assessment. Bruce Fraser recently told Grant Liffmann on NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dubs Talk podcast that Kuminga is a “no-ceiling type of player.”
But the Warriors’ human-highlight reel is only 19 years old and has been a defensive liability, proven out by games like the minus-30 vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves and the minus-29 vs. the Utah Jazz. Simmons says he saw that in-person in the 124-116 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
“He barely knows what he’s doing,” Simmons lamented. “So you have this thing where it’s like this toy that you have to play with, but half the time… I mean he’s really lost on defense. You could see it in person, and then he’ll do three amazing things in a row. And you’re like, you have to play him.”
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Of course, what ails the Warriors is much more extensive than Kuminga’s rookie growing pains associated with a high-ceiling, low-floor prospect. Will Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala get healthy? Will Klay Thompson look more like his old self? Will James Wiseman ever play this season?
As both Steph Curry and Simmons stated, playoff seeding shouldn't be as much of a concern to the Warriors as they have many pressing issues to fix with the postseason just weeks away.
Add Jonathan Kuminga’s role in the playoff rotation to that list.