Jonathan Kuminga is currently on trial. The Golden State Warriors are offering a starting role and extended opportunity for the fourth-year forward to see if he's really a key piece of the franchise's future.
Steve Kerr started Kuminga and Kevon Looney together on Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks, relegating veteran forward Draymond Green to a bench role. That seems a short-term solution to try and address a long-term issue of whether Kuminga is really the player the Warriors want to recommit to on a big contract extension in free agency.
An obvious move could fix the Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga conundrum
If Golden State do work themselves into the playoffs, it's very difficult to envisage Green remaining in a bench role during the postseason even if the Kuminga experiment works and he's retained beyond the February 6 trade deadline.
So what happens then? Kuminga goes back to the bench and the exploration you're on right now counts for very little? Do Kuminga and Green start together, leaving the Warriors with no legitimate center and at risk of being exploited accordingly.
The Kuminga conundrum Golden State currently faces will very likely end in one of two ways. If he doesn't taken the opportunity presented and doesn't look like a player that warrants $120+ million, then Green will re-take his starting role and Kuminga will probably find himself off the team by the deadline.
Conversely, if Kuminga looks like a future star and is a winning piece right now, then the Warriors will still need to make an alternative move to ensure they have the option of starting he and Green together.
It's why many look at Nikola Vucevic (or another stretch big) as an obvious option for Golden State, particularly if they don't go down the route of trading for a star like Jimmy Butler making $40+ million.
Vucevic is averaging 21.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in an impressive start to the season, shooting 58.7% from the floor and 47.5% from 3-point range. The Chicago Bulls continue to aggressively shop the 2x All-Star, along with Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times.
Vucevic or another shooting big man could allow Steve Kerr to once again try Kuminga at the three, this time without the spacing concerns that were present when they tried it at the start of the season with Trayce Jackson-Davis as the starting five.
Whichever way it goes, we should get a resolution on Kuminga one way or another in the next six weeks. The 22-year-old has started the last six games for the Warriors, averaging 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 49.1% shooting from the floor and 40% from 3-point range.
