The Golden State Warriors are on their way to make another postseason run after acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat.
The team regained their pep and offense, thanks to Jimmy Buckets’ arrival to the Bay Area. His offensive and defensive contributions to the team have been vital to the point that both Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr are singing him praises.
However, his arrival also puts an entirely new question mark on Jonathan Kuminga’s future with the Dubs. Butler’s arrival will relegate the seventh pick of the 2021 Draft back to the bench, fighting Gui Santos for minutes in the postseason.
While the Warriors are in no rush to get him back on the court due to Butler’s arrival, they know that they will need his athleticism and all-around play if they secure their ticket to the postseason.
In fact, Steve Kerr came clean about Kuminga’s condition and how he and the coaching staff are approaching his recovery.
Steve Kerr admits to not rushing Jonathan Kuminga back to the Golden State Warriors roster
Steve Kerr recently made a radio appearance to talk about everything Warriors, where Kuminga’s injury stood out as one of the more interesting topics.
Kuminga hasn’t played for the Dubs since their 113-121 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies. Kerr admitted that they’re taking their time with the young forward’s recovery.
Per Sports Illustrated’s Liam Willerup:
“No setback. The injury itself was more serious than anybody realized,” Kerr shared Wednesday on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs.” “And some of these things you just can’t predict. That’s one of the things I’ve learned during my time as coach, working with Rick [Celebrini] and the performance staff. There’s no exact recipe for these injuries, and everybody heals differently.
It’s good that the Dubs aren’t forcing Kuminga’s recovery timeline, but that may be in part because of Butler’s arrival from South Beach.
It’s not like Kuminga wasn’t playing well under Kerr this season, though. The former G League Ignite standout was having a fantastic season, averaging 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on 50%/34%/64% shooting splits.
He will likely start games from the bench when he returns from his ankle injury, but Warriors fans will be counting on him to give them that much-needed boost to make an unlikely (but completely possible) run to the NBA Finals.
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