As Kerr looks back with the benefit of even more perspective, he does so with empathy for the situation. The Warriors drafted the then-18-year-old Kuminga with the seventh pick in the 2021 Draft.
“I think this is part of the modern NBA,” Kerr said. “You’re getting guys who are so inexperienced. I will tell you, the optimal circumstance for JK when he entered the NBA would have been to go to a bad team. Instead, he came to a championship team. But the way to develop in this league is to play 30, 35 minutes every night, make your mistakes, learn from your mistakes, grow, be able to do it out of the spotlight. And he wasn’t able to do any of those things (here), and I recognize that. That’s why I’m really hoping that the change in scenery will be what he needed.”