With the Kevin Durant saga now settled, the future playing location of Jonathan Kuminga is one of the intruguing storylines of the NBA offseason.
The forward has spent all four years of his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors and has shown tantalizing flashes of brilliance combined with confounding episodes of being glued to the Warriors’ bench.
Kuminga has the opportunity to test the free agent waters, albeit in a restricted manner, meaning the Warriors can match any offer he may get to retain him.
He appears to seek the opportunity to spread his wings as a player, something that is severely limited with the presence of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler on the Warriors roster.
Speaking to the Athletic on what he seeks in his free agency journey, it is clear that having more responsibility and a bigger role will be a primary factor in where he may sign saying the following:
“I feel like I’m at the point where that has to be my priority, to just be one of the guys a team relies on. Aiming to be an All-Star. Multiple times. Aiming to be great. … Wherever I’m going to be at, it don’t matter if it’s the Warriors or if it’s anywhere else, it’s something I want. I want to see what I could do. I know I got it. So I want to really see. I’ve never got that chance.”
The most fertile ground for the former 7th overall pick in the 2021 draft to fully actualize his potential may be a team with young players who they are looking to develop, rather than a veteran-laden ball club that is looking to win now.
This past season, in 47 appearances with 10 starts, Kuminga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists on .454/.305/.668 splits.
