Steve Kerr Reacts to Jonathan Kuminga's Performance in Warriors-Lakers Game

Golden State's star trio of Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green each played 15 minutes or less to start their preseason, while Moses Moody earned the start and dropped a team-high 19 points in 15 minutes of action.

Kuminga's first game back

The root of Golden State's issues throughout the offseason was restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, but the two sides ultimately agreed on a two-year deal worth $48.5 million to keep him with the Warriors.

The contract negotiations between Kuminga and the Warriors even bled into the team's training camp, as he missed the first couple of days of practice before finally joining the team.

On Sunday, in Golden State's preseason win over the Lakers, Kuminga dropped five points, six rebounds, four assists, and one block on 2-3 shooting from the field in 15 minutes of action. Coming off the bench has been Steve Kerr's preferred role for Kuminga, and while he did not make much of a box-score impact, he quietly had an impressive all-around performance.

Kerr speaks on Kuminga's performance

After Sunday's game, Kerr was asked about Kuminga's performance, and the head coach had some positive words for the polarizing forward.

"I thought he played well," Kerr said. "Obviously, he missed the first couple days of practice, so he was a little bit behind on some of the stuff we were doing. I thought JK played well.

"Made a couple of great passes in transition. That second and third quarter, the game really flowed for us, and our transition, spacing, which we’ve been working on all week was great. So that was the best part of the game, those two quarters. I liked some of the plays that JK made during those stretches.”

Kuminga, who just turned 23 years old on Monday, is gearing up for a very unique 2025-26 season. Knowing that the Warriors will likely look to trade him ahead of the trade deadline in February, all Kuminga can do is focus on getting better and making the biggest impact possible, despite all of the noise around him.

This training camp and preseason will be huge for Kuminga and the Warriors, as they not only look to compete for a title this season, but they also have to try to make the most of this Kuminga situation.