Now that the divorce between the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga has been finalized, details about the rocky partnership are surfacing. 

In the Warriors’ 123-91 win over the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 7, Kuminga was held out of coach Steve Kerr’s rotation for the first time since returning from a knee injury. The 23-year-old forward took offense to a perceived jab from his coach in Kerr’s post-game media availability, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater. 

When asked about Kuminga’s DNP at Chicago, Kerr told reporters after the game that “it happens to everybody, pretty much, other than the stars. Guys come in and out of the rotation depending on who’s available, how the team’s playing.” 

Kuminga fielded questions with reporters in the locker room after the game but then spoke with Slater afterward and questioned whether reporters asked Kerr about him.

At that point, Slater confirmed to Kuminga that Kerr addressed the situation and played the coach’s comments for the young forward. 

“See,” Kuminga said to Slater. “That’s the s–t I’m talking about. Why’s he gotta say that?” 

It appears Kuminga took offense to Kerr saying, “other than the stars,” in particular. 

But when he spoke with reporters before speaking with ESPN, Kuminga didn’t portray animosity, Slater notes in his article. 

“Kuminga said he would accept it and stay ready. His relationship with Kerr was fine, he said,” Slater writes. “Those talking points didn’t necessarily represent how he felt in private.” 

A few days later, Kerr elaborated on his decision to hold Kuminga out during an interview with 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs.” 

“He has not played well lately, and that’s why I went away from him last game,” Kerr said. 

In his four games after returning from his knee injury, Kuminga averaged 7.8 points on a very inefficient 30-percent shooting from the field. That included a start against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the night before Kuminga’s DNP in Chicago, in which Kuminga scored 4 points on 1-of-10 shooting. 

Perhaps Kerr could have phrased his comments in a different way. Nevertheless, Kuminga was never considered one of the Warriors’ stars, and other options were explored by Kerr. 

After his DNP in Chicago, Kuminga played in just three of 26 games before he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. 

Kerr recognized his own missteps in his relationship with Kuminga during the forward’s tenure with Golden State. 

“Without going into too much detail, organizationally I think the right path for us, for him, it was always tricky to navigate,” Kerr told reporters after the trade, almost one week ago. “We all share in that, myself included. I’m not going to go into detail, but he was undoubtedly put in some tough spots coming to a championship team his rookie year and a team that was continuing to try and compete at the highest level and got here with very little experience.  

“That’s a tough thing to reconcile. I wish I had done a better job of making that happen.” 

Now that the split has been finalized, both sides have a fresh start and can move forward. 

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast