The Golden State Warriors continue to miss Jonathan Kuminga from their lineup due to his bilateral patellar tendinitis injury. Warriors coach Steve Kerr has a complicated history with Kuminga over the past few seasons. Many question their relationship not being strong as a reason why Kuminga will not have a long-term future in Golden State. The head coach was asked about Kuminga’s timetable to return to the court and provided an honest answer that gives little short-term hope to Warriors fans. “Honestly, I just talked to the training staff. They tell me it’s day to day,” Kerr explained to the media. “So, talking to JK, and he said he’s not moving that well, so I can’t tell you what the outlook is. JK can tell you that better than I could, so he needs to feel better and be able to move better before we can put him out there. Maybe we’ll get imaging done on the knee, but yeah, we got to figure it out.” Kerr: Kuminga Is Day To Day The most surprising thing about Kerr’s news is that he remains hopeful enough to list Kuminga as day to day on the injury report. More often than not, a coach saying someone is not moving well and has an uncertain return timetable will have them ruled out for at least another week or two. However, the team staff still felt Kuminga is day to day, which implies he can return any game coming up sooner than later. Golden State has missed Kuminga for five straight games and it hurts the team’s overall depth. The hot start for Kuminga saw him averaging 17. 4 points and 7. 1 rebounds in 31. 0 minutes over his first seven games. Confidence started to grow that Kuminga could be the third scoring option behind superstars Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. Unfortunately, things slowed down after the first seven games. Kuminga averaged just 9. 5 points in 24. 0 minutes per game over his next six games before the injury ruled him out. Does Kerr Still Believe In Kuminga? Conflict between Kerr and Kuminga in past seasons fractured their relationship to never grow in the same way it did with the coach for Curry, Klay Thompson and other stars. Kuminga and his agent have made some critical comments in the past over how Kerr and the Warriors use the young player. However, this season proved that Kerr is willing to trust Kuminga if he feels the 23-year-old is contributing to the lineup and doing what is asked of him. Kerr ultimately benched Kuminga this season before the injury became a factor to show he had quickly lost confidence. Golden State only has Kuminga locked into a two-year contract, and his name is often floated around on the trade market. Kuminga getting healthy and playing consistently could see him either becoming a big factor to the Warriors’ success or the perfect young trade piece to improve their starting lineup.
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