Here We Go Again: Jonathan Kuminga Reportedly Feels The Warriors Are Currently Using Him As A Scapegoat For Their Struggles

Eakin Howard. Getty Images.

Over the offseason, you couldn't escape the Jonathan Kuminga/Warriors restricted free agency standoff. It was weeks and weeks of "reports" that fluctuated between the Warriors side leaking they view him as a piece of their future and blah blah blah, and the Kuminga side threatening to accept the qualifying offer which would have been a disaster for the Warriors as a leverage play to get more money. It was your classic example of a toxic relationship where both sides should probably just turn their key and break up, but the Warriors ultimately refused.

Once he signed his 2/$46M "extension" (2nd year team option), the entire basketball world knew what it meant. That deal was the exact definition of a placeholder deal to hold things off until we got to the trade deadline, and then Kuminga would be traded. He knew it, the team knew it, fans knew it, that was the tradeoff for the bump in salary. He got a short term deal at a higher price, the Warriors kept their team option, and the clock started to get us to January 15th (his trade eligble date)

If you thought that was going to be the end of this drama, well then you haven't really been paying attention. It wasn't the end of the drama, it was just the beginning. With the Warriors on a bit of a slide at the moment and Kuminga's recent benching, it should be a surprise to nobody that shit is already starting to hit the fan just a month into the season

“The Warriors lost five of their next seven. Kuminga's turnovers spiked and performance dipped. Searching for rotation answers, Kerr demoted Kuminga back to a bench role, reopening old wounds. ‘He feels like the scapegoat again,’ one team source said.”

“Can you just imagine being in a place where -- like, I get it -- are you wanted here or not?That's the worst feeling, man. Can you imagine it? I had to deal with it at the later part [of my tenure] in Miami. It's like, damn, I've been here. What are we talking about? It's a s---ty place to be in. And no matter what you do, you don't feel like you're doing right.”

In my opinion, this is the EXACT reason why the Warriors front office needed to turn their key and just rip the bandaid off when it came to the Kuminga situation. Something like this happening at the first sign of adversity is the least surprising thing of all time. While the Warriors were winning, it provided the cover. But once those wins stopped happening? We're right back to where we started with this whole thing. 

This isn't to make an excuse for Kuminga, who isn't a perfect player and can obviously play better. He's accountable for that part of this situation. But at the same time, this whole thing feels more like organizational malpractice than a player issue. I'm also a little curious about the timing of this stuff, seeing as how Kuminga has been out since 11/12. It's not like he's been part of the issue for their last two losses to the Magic and Heat, so that part doesn't exactly pass the smell test.

The frustrating part, if I were a Warriors fa,n is this is the type of shit that can kill your entire season. Given the Warriors play in the loaded Western Conference, it's not going to take much to really screw you in a season in which the Warriors have to win NOW. Chemistry, vibes, buy in, all of those things are extremely important to a contending NBA team. Meanwhile, the Warriors are bringing all of this upon themselves, potentially compromising another season of Steph Curry. They probably could have traded him this summer, but refused. Instead, they went this route and look at what's already happening. Remember, GS couldn't do anything in the offseason until the Kuminga situation was handled, and it clearly hurt them from a team building standpoint. The Warriors are stuck in Play In hell, they aren't getting any younger, and they're wasting another insane Steph season.

All because why? The ownership group didn't want to let go of a player that Steve Kerr clearly doesn't like and who clearly isn't fitting with what GS wants to do? How does that make any sense? It feels like the Warriors owners were more concerned about Kuminga maybe being good somewhere else than their own team, which is not exactly how I would go about maximizing the last few years of Steph Curry, but what do I know? 

Not to pile on, but do we think the Warriors are driving the market price up or down for Kuminga? Now, they'll probably be forced to trade him for like 55 cents on the dollar, which might be fine if this is more of an addition by subtraction situation, but not great in terms of player value. At this point though, just take it on the chin and turn your key. It's been beyond time.