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Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors is congratulated by Jonathan Kuminga
In the pantheon of sports cliches, one of the underrated classics is the hit job a team will whisper to a local reporter or two after a player is traded. The goal is simple and usually is well-accomplished–drop a couple of embarrassing details, make the player look like an unsympathetic character and help polish the team’s image after the deal is complete. We got some of that, it seems, on Wednesday with an ESPN story about ex-Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga.
The relationship between Kuminga and the team had fractured, according to the site, to the point that the Warriors were keeping tabs on how much food Kuminga’s family was taking from the family room.
Details were leaked to ESPN: “He knew management wanted to ding him for missing a team-requested event and alert him that someone around him was taking too much food from the family room. The gripes between player and organization, as multiple sources said, had become ‘petty’ in the fifth year of a relationship many believed should’ve ended years before.”
Jonathan Kuminga Saw Post About Warriors Complaint
Again, it’s not unusual for details about players to leak out after trades, not just in the NBA but in any sport. What is unusual is for details of such minor significance to get such national attention, but that is just what the post did–it had the rare effect of making both the Warriors and Kuminga look shallow.
Kuminga was traded to the Hawks at the deadline last week, but he obviously was kept apprised of the ESPN story. When Bleacher Report post (and removed) on Instagram about someone in Kuminga’s circle taking too much food from the family room, Kuminga had to respond.
Stephen Curry Sends Message to Jonathan Kuminga
He was clearly frustrated and posted a series of 32 laughing faces followed by one rolling-the-eyes emoji and the question, “What else?”
Stephen Curry, the Warriors’ injured star, caught sight of his question and felt the need to offer an apology on behalf of the organization for letting silliness like that leak out.
“I’m sorry, bro,” Curry wrote. “This is ridiculous. Go be Great!”
Warriors Under Pressure After Trade
As far as the players involved in the trade, none of the two principals has made his debut for his new team yet. The Warriors have big man Kristaps Porzingis rounding into form after an Achilles injury but the team has said that Porzingis won’t play until after the All-Star break. Kuminga, too, will be out until after the break, as he recovers from a knee injury.
The Hawks also acquired Buddy Hield in the deal, and Hield made his debut in Atlanta’s loss to the Timberwolves, in which he was 0-for-1 shooting with a turnover in five minutes.
It’s hard to say how the remainder of the season will play out for both Kuminga in Atlanta and Porzingis in Golden State. No doubt, there is more pressure on the Warriors in this case, because Kuminga was a No. 7 overall pick five years ago and the team failed to develop him into stardom.
If he thrives in Atlanta–if he’s “Great” as Curry said–the Warriors will look doubly bad for having traded him and for having not gotten the most out of him while he was with the team. If that happens, at least the Dubs can point out that Kuminga was taking too much food.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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