Jonathan Kuminga Heads to Atlanta: A Fresh Start After a Rocky Run in Golden State
The Jonathan Kuminga era in Golden State has officially come to a close. The Warriors sent the 23-year-old forward - along with veteran sharpshooter Buddy Hield - to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis. It’s a move that ends years of on-and-off tension between Kuminga and the Warriors' coaching staff, and gives the former lottery pick a fresh opportunity to carve out the role he’s been chasing since entering the league.
Let’s be clear: the talent has never been in question. Kuminga’s blend of athleticism, size, and raw scoring ability has always turned heads.
But in Golden State’s tightly structured, ball-movement-heavy system, fitting in was never going to be as simple as showcasing flashes of brilliance. It was about trust, consistency, and understanding your role - and that’s where things got complicated.
The Role That Never Quite Fit
According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Kuminga never fully earned head coach Steve Kerr’s trust, a key hurdle in a system that demands players buy in on both ends of the floor. Bontemps pointed to a comparison with Jimmy Butler’s early days in Chicago - when Butler had to accept a limited role under Tom Thibodeau before eventually breaking out.
The message? Sometimes you have to master the small things before you’re handed the keys.
Kuminga, by contrast, seemed to want more - and faster. As ESPN’s Anthony Slater explained, the Warriors envisioned Kuminga as a play finisher and energy guy.
Think slashing cuts, transition buckets, and hard-nosed defense. What they didn’t want was for him to initiate the offense or try to create advantages off the dribble.
That wasn’t his role - at least not yet.
But Kuminga didn’t always see it that way. And while there were stretches when he embraced the role - most notably during the 2023-24 season, when he averaged a career-best 16.1 points in just over 26 minutes per game - those moments weren’t consistent enough to fully shift the narrative.
A Disconnect from the Start
The tension between player and team wasn’t just about on-court roles. It went deeper, starting with the way Kuminga entered the organization.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob reportedly became enamored with Kuminga during a pre-draft dinner and pushed hard for the team to select him. General manager Bob Myers and executive Mike Dunleavy got on board, but Kerr - busy that summer coaching Team USA - wasn’t as involved in the process.
That lack of alignment from day one may have set the tone. Slater reported that Kuminga often felt like the coaching staff was trying to box him into a mold he didn’t agree with.
Over time, that friction only grew. And after several seasons of uneven minutes, shifting roles, and internal frustration, it became clear that a change of scenery was needed.
A New Chapter in Atlanta
Now, Kuminga gets that change. Once he returns from a knee injury suffered in late January, the Hawks are expected to give him a real shot to prove himself. For a player who’s long believed he can be more than just a role player, this is the kind of opportunity that can redefine a career.
And let’s not forget - there were real flashes in Golden State. Kuminga showed he could score in bunches, defend multiple positions, and bring energy to a second unit. The question now is whether he can do it consistently - and whether Atlanta’s system will allow him to take that next step.
There’s also added motivation. The end of his Warriors tenure wasn’t exactly smooth, with reports of minor off-court issues (including the now-infamous “family room food” incident) adding another layer to an already complex situation. Kuminga has every reason to come out of the All-Star break with something to prove.
The tools are there. The opportunity is there. Now it’s on Kuminga to show that he can turn potential into production - not just in spurts, but night in and night out.
The next few months in Atlanta could tell us a lot about what kind of player Jonathan Kuminga is - and what kind of player he’s determined to become.