The Warriors traded Jonathan Kuminga to the Hawks at this year’s NBA trade deadline along with Buddy Hield in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis. The decision for Golden State to move on from the former lottery pick finalized a rather drawn-out and ugly divorce between the two sides. 

Kuminga fell out of coach Steve Kerr’s rotation last season as the Dubs attempted to make a deep playoff run with the recently-acquired Jimmy Butler in the fold. That development led to a protracted contract standoff over the offseason during which Kuminga tried to get traded to a team that would feature him more prominently on the court. But he was unsuccessful and wound up signing a two-year deal with Golden State with plans to hit unrestricted free agency next offseason. The bad feelings between the two sides persisted into this season; Kuminga started strong but wound up benched within two months and played only two games for the Warriors in 2026 before he was sent to Atlanta. 

It’s not a shocking end for the 23-year-old’s time in the Bay but it is a steep fall from grace. Kuminga was once seen as a core piece of the franchise’s future post-Steph Curry. Instead he was shipped off midseason, leaving behind a rocky relationship with Kerr. 

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On Wednesday a new ESPN report detailed one final, explosive confrontation between the two. 

Per Warriors reporter Anthony Slater, Kerr called a meeting with Kuminga on December 10 to address the forward’s absence from a team event and (apparently) an issue that arose involving a member of Kuminga’s team taking too much food from the Warriors’ family room. At this point Kuminga had been out of Kerr’s regular rotation for a month. It led to a voicing of frustration from both parties and resulted in Kerr slamming his white board. 

“Inside Kerr’s office that afternoon, exasperation boiled over,” Slater reported. “The discussion went from small picture to bigger picture. Frustrations were let out on both sides—Kerr voicing his displeasure with Kuminga’s lack of buy-in and competitiveness toward the team goals and Kuminga letting out his hurt about Kerr’s longtime lack of belief in him as a player. The meeting ended, sources familiar with the exchange said, with Kerr slamming his white board in frustration.” 

Interestingly, however, Kuminga left the meeting extra motivated. Slater reported Kuminga put forth a “passionate” effort in the two practices after the meeting. But it didn’t change anything on the court for Kerr. Kuminga played exactly once between that Dec. 10 meeting and Jan. 20. On Feb. 5 he was traded to the Hawks. 

The above meeting seems to be a clear-cut summation of the irreparable conflict between the two sides. Kuminga believed himself talented enough to be a featured player on the court; Kerr believed his impact on winning would come as a complement to Curry. By the time the start of the 2025–26 season rolled around it had become an “unstoppable force meets an immovable object” situation where neither side was willing to budge, even after an intense airing of grievances that appeared to be helpful. 

For his part Kerr seemed a touch regretful at how the situation unfolded, saying Kuminga was in a “very tough” situation while with Golden State. 

“I think it was a tough situation for everybody, given how raw he was when he got here and given we were still playing for championships,” Kerr said in a statement after Kuminga was shipped out. “For him, it was very tough not being able to make those mistakes,” Kerr said. “For us as a staff, I think it was tricky trying to develop him while we were trying to win. I think it’s as simple as that.” 

After several drawn-out years, the paths of Kuminga and the Warriors have finally diverged. Based on previous reports and the above meeting, moving on was best for everybody.

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