Is the Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga ready to take the Year 3 leap?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jonathan Kuminga does not enter his third season needing to prove he can be a contributing member of an NBA rotation. He already has been. Kuminga, in place of the absent Andrew Wiggins a season ago, averaged 24.2 minutes the final 21 games. His counting stats were adequate. His defensive assignments were important. He helped the Golden State Warriors to the sixth seed.

Then it got crowded. Wiggins and Gary Payton II returned for the playoffs. Kuminga was pushed down the rotational ladder, an unearned demotion. But he’d apparently done enough that Warriors coach Steve Kerr felt compelled to still find a small role for him to open the Sacramento Kings series. He received 10, four and 13 minutes the first three games to quiet results. Kuminga’s impact has always scaled up better than it has scaled down.

In what was the stint that caused Kerr to pull the playoff plug, Kuminga opened the second quarter of a crucial Game 4 and didn’t have a whole lot of juice. His appearance lasted only three minutes. He disappeared from the rotation entirely after that.

This possession appears to be the final nail in the coffin. Wiggins is attacking a tilted defense on the right side. Kuminga floats to the left corner, calling for the ball. Wiggins opts for a fadeaway near two Kings defenders. Nobody boxes out Kuminga. He has a clear avenue along the baseline for an attack and uncontested put-back dunk, considering how the miss bounces. But he’s late to react and never enters the mix.

The conversation around Kuminga entering a crucial third season is more nuanced than his unproven reputation might suggest. He has proven he can contribute nightly, if given extended opportunity.

But it now becomes about a level up. Can the 21-year-old leap enough to finally force Kerr to trust him ahead of other veteran options, even when all are healthy and available? Can he still remain focused and energized on nights Kerr scales back his usage? Come playoff time, is Kuminga a must-play 25-minute per night ascending wing or still a tantalizing but fleeting talent who gets demoted when the stakes rise?

The Athletic recently sat down with Kerr and Kuminga separately to discuss this pivot point of Kuminga’s early career. It does appear that rebounding is at the forefront of the conversation, a signal to the coaching staff of Kuminga’s effort and focus at the winning margins.

“A lot of guys in this league, young players — shot goes up, and they just turn and look at the ball,” Kerr said. “So, on the defensive end, we need JK to take up space, find the guy that’s crashing early and go and hit him because there’s a lot of long rebounds. Then on the flip side, he should take advantage of all that ball watching.”

Kerr is of the belief that Kuminga can become an elite offensive rebounder, so his staff made an important declaration entering the season. They’ve told Kuminga he has free rein to crash for any and every offensive rebound he wants to attack.

“We want him going every time,” Kerr said. “Go. Every time.”

This is a notable concession. Kevon Looney lives down there. But only one other non-center has been given this prerogative.

“The only other person who had that freedom was Wiggs,” Kuminga said. “Now they want me to crash every time. I’m kind of enjoying it. It’s something new. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m tall. I’m athletic. I’m stronger than a lot of people on the floor.”

The Wiggins comparison is an apt one. Wiggins was a dissatisfying rebounder during his Minnesota days. Part of the Warriors’ belief when they traded for him involved unlocking that aspect of his game. In that 2022 title run, Wiggins morphed into one of the NBA’s best offensive rebounders, listening to the repetitive instruction to crash and turning that into 54 offensive boards, more than everyone in the league besides Looney.

There’s hope that this new Kuminga freedom can help in ways it did for Wiggins. It is a sign of increased trust from the staff that could clear the mind and erase some of the hesitancy from his approach.

“We call them crashes or stays,” Kerr said. “You can’t stay. We want you to crash. But you can’t stay. If you’re not crashing, you should be running back.”

Kuminga was in the gym all summer. He spent plenty of time in San Francisco. He scrimmaged a ton, purposefully paired with Chris Paul when both were present. Some of the Warriors’ younger assistants — Will Sheehey, Klinton Carlson — tracked Kuminga’s crashes and stays. It’s a staff-wide initiative. Early in camp, they’ve stopped practice when Kuminga hasn’t been aggressive enough on the glass.

“To get more respect and get more playing time, there’s things that you have to always do,” Kuminga said. “It’s rebound. It’s playing defense without fouling.”

Kuminga has 17 rebounds through three preseason games.

Eight rebounds for Jonathan Kuminga tonight: "That's something I've been working on. If I don't do it in practice, they stop practice. I'm not great at it yet, but I'm working on it…Crashing every single time. Not standing, not watching."

Full soundbite pic.twitter.com/cDmPmFVGJ5

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 8, 2023

Kuminga has the type of skill set, size, work ethic and self belief that, if it all comes together, it’s fair to forecast him as an eventual All-Star-level two-way wing who can score 24 points a night, defend the opponent’s best player and emerge into a franchise’s No. 1 or No. 2 option. Kuminga is doing his best to speed up that process. But that can generate conflict.

Kerr has compared it to a restaurant having an expansive menu. The more talented a young player, the more areas they need to grow, the more layers they want to add and the more difficult it is to contain and minimize the player into a specific but limited role-playing box.

Kuminga has exploded for 24, 26 and 28 points in three preseason games. That’s the highest total in the league. He’s taken 44 shots and 17 3s. Recognizing a power advantage in Sacramento on Sunday, he muscled his way to the free-throw line 17 times, as many as the entire Kings team. He made 13 and, icing down postgame after a 34-minute night, he sounded pretty proud.

“I only missed four, right?” Kuminga asked. “Is that the highest amount I’ve ever shot? Damn. My shot wasn’t going the way I wanted, the way it was the past two games. So I found a way. I stayed aggressive. If my shot isn’t going, I still need a find a way to make plays.”

That’s the approach of a maturing scorer and Kuminga’s rim pressure and ability to get to the line is certainly something this smaller, older roster needs. But the preseason pecking order isn’t the regular-season pecking order. When Kuminga is on the floor with some mix of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Wiggins, he must know when to throttle back.

“It’s mainly about recognizing possessions,” Kerr said. “What’s the best shot? We want him shooting 3s, especially if people are going to sag off him. Especially in the corner. Be ready to catch and shoot. Absolutely. Make them respect your shot.”

To survive better in lineups next to Draymond Green and Looney, Kuminga eventually needs to scare defenses enough with his shot to generate better space. He made 37 percent of his 3s last season — very respectable — but certain teams still opted to drop a defender way off him.

“I was confident, but I wasn’t as much as I am this year,” Kuminga told reporters after making seven 3s in his first two preseason games. “Seeing someone back up when I shoot, it makes me overthink. But lately, it’s like, ‘Do that and you have to pay for it.'”

But the Warriors also don’t want him to overdo it.

“Part of being on this team is if Steph and Klay have a better shot, throw the ball to them,” Kerr said. “It’s not as easy as just sort of, ‘Oh, this is your shot and this is not your shot.’ It’s about recognizing basketball plays that happen to go really fast. That stuff takes time. If he shoots a 3 and Steph or Klay is wide open in the corner, that’s a bad shot. Different circumstance it could be a good shot. He has to recognize it.”

Kerr also has been on Kuminga about his turnovers. They targeted Paul, Cory Joseph and Dario Šarić this summer because they wanted to fill the rotation with sharp, secure decision-makers. Kerr has long conceded that Curry and Green will be high turnover playmakers but has told the team he needs everyone else to operate with more caution and care this season.

Kuminga has 13 turnovers in three preseason games. Several have been careless. Between the two Los Angeles Lakers games, Kerr and Kuminga sat down and went through them on film. Kuminga’s professionalism has been complimented regularly through training camp. Kerr and Anthony Vereen, the coach who works closest with Kuminga, say Paul’s presence and approach have been crucial.

“JK is handling himself really well,” Kerr said. “We’re having conversations with him every day. I did yesterday. AV watches with him daily. It’s important that he and I watch tape together. He’s asking a lot of really good questions.”

Kerr also admitted that part of Kuminga’s growth this season is contingent on him giving Kuminga a little more trust and leeway.

“I’m really trying to find the right balance of infusing a guy with confidence but coaching him into making good decisions at the right time,” Kerr said. “That’s something I’m focused on, making sure he is confident and feeling good, but embracing the fact that he’s still a young guy and has a lot to learn.”

(Photo of Jonathan Kuminga: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)