Warriors select Jonathan Kuminga with the 7th pick of the 2021 NBA Draft

[oaktownwarriors87]

I'm loving the energy that he's bringing to the floor, along side that size and athleticism.

I'm a big believer in having young, athletic high energy players around your veterans. They need to be the ones doing the dirty work.

Net rating (with Curry) and average speed. There's a strong correlation between who moves and plays hard with Curry and who has success. The three guys getting boost above their speed (Green, Iguodala, and Bjelica) all look to pass.

Code: Select all

Player   Net Rating   Speed (Percentile)
Payton     +28.7         98.70%
Kuminga    +27.2         89.06%
Chiozza    +23.8         67.97%
Bjelica    +23.1         33.33%
Anderson   +21.3         84.90%
Iguodala   +20.3         20.57%
Lee        +16.8         91.67%
Porter     +15.9         51.04%
Poole      +14.0         46.35%
Green      +13.0          4.43%
Wiggins    +12.1         36.20%
Looney     +10.9         26.04%
Moody      -3.3         29.43%

It's going to be even more important when Klay comes back. We can't keep running Curry into the ground. These young guys need to step it up and take on bigger roles, and the slower/older guys need to see fewer minutes with more effort. This is a long season.

[Badly Browned]

I don't think Kuminga would get any more minutes if they scale back DLee. If anything, it would be Moody right now, and then Klay when he's back.

Id say right now it's JTA and Bjelica ahead of him, who have been hot and cold enough to fit some Kuminga minutes in there, and when they DNP-CD OPJ there should be minutes for Kuminga there.

[Twinkie defense]

Has Kuminga found his new role as backup center?

[Samurai]

I don't think Kuminga would get any more minutes if they scale back DLee. If anything, it would be Moody right now, and then Klay when he's back.

Id say right now it's JTA and Bjelica ahead of him, who have been hot and cold enough to fit some Kuminga minutes in there, and when they DNP-CD OPJ there should be minutes for Kuminga there.

If Bjelly and JTA are having one of their "good" games, that's fine. But both are just as likely to have games where they hurt us more than help us; its those games where I think Kerr should have a quicker hook to put Kuminga in instead. There are times where Kerr gives JTA and Bjelly too many minutes when it is clear that they just don't have it that night - they aren't Steph, Klay or Dray where they've earned the right to work out of their slump. We have the luxury where we have a bunch of bench guys that can give us a significant lift (OPJ, GPII, Bjelly, JTA, Kuminga, Moody, and once in a great while DLee) so we can afford to be quicker to pull the trigger and find the right guys who are having a good game.

[xdrta+]

I don't think Kuminga would get any more minutes if they scale back DLee. If anything, it would be Moody right now, and then Klay when he's back.

Id say right now it's JTA and Bjelica ahead of him, who have been hot and cold enough to fit some Kuminga minutes in there, and when they DNP-CD OPJ there should be minutes for Kuminga there.

If Bjelly and JTA are having one of their "good" games, that's fine. But both are just as likely to have games where they hurt us more than help us; its those games where I think Kerr should have a quicker hook to put Kuminga in instead. There are times where Kerr gives JTA and Bjelly too many minutes when it is clear that they just don't have it that night - they aren't Steph, Klay or Dray where they've earned the right to work out of their slump. We have the luxury where we have a bunch of bench guys that can give us a significant lift (OPJ, GPII, Bjelly, JTA, Kuminga, Moody, and once in a great while DLee) so we can afford to be quicker to pull the trigger and find the right guys who are having a good game.

Kuminga can't replace JTA's defense.

[Samurai]

I don't think Kuminga would get any more minutes if they scale back DLee. If anything, it would be Moody right now, and then Klay when he's back.

Id say right now it's JTA and Bjelica ahead of him, who have been hot and cold enough to fit some Kuminga minutes in there, and when they DNP-CD OPJ there should be minutes for Kuminga there.

If Bjelly and JTA are having one of their "good" games, that's fine. But both are just as likely to have games where they hurt us more than help us; its those games where I think Kerr should have a quicker hook to put Kuminga in instead. There are times where Kerr gives JTA and Bjelly too many minutes when it is clear that they just don't have it that night - they aren't Steph, Klay or Dray where they've earned the right to work out of their slump. We have the luxury where we have a bunch of bench guys that can give us a significant lift (OPJ, GPII, Bjelly, JTA, Kuminga, Moody, and once in a great while DLee) so we can afford to be quicker to pull the trigger and find the right guys who are having a good game.

Kuminga can't replace JTA's defense.

And JTA can't replace Kuminga's explosiveness and creativity at the cup. Kuminga can't switch onto guards as easily as JTA and JTA doesn't have as much strength to defend bigs as Kuminga. My point is that when JTA has his WTF games (see Phoenix, 11/30), whatever defensive advantage he might give us is wiped away by his turnovers and bonehead plays. I'd rather see if Kuminga can give us a lift if we know the alternative is JTA or Bjelly is having one of their negative games.

[xdrta+]

If Bjelly and JTA are having one of their "good" games, that's fine. But both are just as likely to have games where they hurt us more than help us; its those games where I think Kerr should have a quicker hook to put Kuminga in instead. There are times where Kerr gives JTA and Bjelly too many minutes when it is clear that they just don't have it that night - they aren't Steph, Klay or Dray where they've earned the right to work out of their slump. We have the luxury where we have a bunch of bench guys that can give us a significant lift (OPJ, GPII, Bjelly, JTA, Kuminga, Moody, and once in a great while DLee) so we can afford to be quicker to pull the trigger and find the right guys who are having a good game.

Kuminga can't replace JTA's defense.

And JTA can't replace Kuminga's explosiveness and creativity at the cup. Kuminga can't switch onto guards as easily as JTA and JTA doesn't have as much strength to defend bigs as Kuminga. My point is that when JTA has his WTF games (see Phoenix, 11/30), whatever defensive advantage he might give us is wiped away by his turnovers and bonehead plays. I'd rather see if Kuminga can give us a lift if we know the alternative is JTA or Bjelly is having one of their negative games.

Hey, I want to see more Kuminga too, but Warrior defense is complicated. I don't blame Kerr for not trusting Kuminga yet, especially in tight games or critical situations. Which the Warriors seem to have found themselves in quite often lately.

[Twinkie defense]

Yep the moment Kuminga is on the floor all of the opposing offensive action will be to isolate and go at him. But it sounds like Kerr has a lot of faith that Kuminga will develop into a big-time defender over time.

[xdrta+]

Yep the moment Kuminga is on the floor all of the opposing offensive action will be to isolate and go at him. But it sounds like Kerr has a lot of faith that Kuminga will develop into a big-time defender over time.

Oh, I've got even more faith than Kerr, that's why I can't stand all these trades that include him. But bring him along slowly--let him get a feel for where he should be and how he should defend. I don't see the rush. So far, pretty good.

[FNQ]

Kuminga has been given Sabonis and Randle in back to back nights and they've respectively gotten nowhere on him

His off-ball defense will certainly need work, especially when he starts playing with Draymond, but he might be our 2nd best man defender in the post. Yes, better than Looney.

[cpower]

Kuminga will probably get more mins over JTA. For me JTA does not bring much other than being a cutter and an energy guy. bbelly is much more important in terms of running offense and he is actually a solid positional defender. Bbelly can be our mini joker, the only thing against him is aggression. Kuminga should be used when Curry is heavily doubled and he can be an ideal lob target

[Samurai]

Yep the moment Kuminga is on the floor all of the opposing offensive action will be to isolate and go at him. But it sounds like Kerr has a lot of faith that Kuminga will develop into a big-time defender over time.

But my eye test is telling me that Kuminga has competently answered the challenge pretty consistently. Earlier this season, he bit on a pump fake when they tried to iso him, resulting in a dumb foul. After being spoken to about it, he has rarely (none that I can recall) made the same mistake. It is also rare that guys blow past him. I think he is already demonstrating the seeds of those big-time defensive traits. I'm all for giving him more minutes.

[WarriorGM]

As long as he isn't a net negative Kuminga should be given minutes especially in these dog days in the middle of the regular season. In the playoffs you need weapons against the better teams and Kuminga looks like he can be a weapon. His development will be important.

[and1GS]

Yep the moment Kuminga is on the floor all of the opposing offensive action will be to isolate and go at him. But it sounds like Kerr has a lot of faith that Kuminga will develop into a big-time defender over time.

But my eye test is telling me that Kuminga has competently answered the challenge pretty consistently. Earlier this season, he bit on a pump fake when they tried to iso him, resulting in a dumb foul. After being spoken to about it, he has rarely (none that I can recall) made the same mistake. It is also rare that guys blow past him. I think he is already demonstrating the seeds of those big-time defensive traits. I'm all for giving him more minutes.

I think it's very telling that he does what you outlines - learns quickly from his mistakes on D. That's what will get him on the floor and his coachability and defensive effort were two of his red flags.

The shot I'm not super concerned about. If he develops an elbow jumper he goes from a threat to score to absolutely dangerous. Even I have a **** elbow jumper it's not hard to develop and is IMO the easiest non paint shot to add to your arsenal.

It will take time to see fully formed Kuminga. But Joku before he even hits super saiyan is already impressive. Why not give him more run? As you said...it's the dog days. Let's inject some energy. Best case he becomes a playoff energy guy and hits the ground running next season. Worst case he sucks as bad as Damion Lee or JTA on certain nights and we bench him for a handful of other options.

[FNQ]

Yep the moment Kuminga is on the floor all of the opposing offensive action will be to isolate and go at him. But it sounds like Kerr has a lot of faith that Kuminga will develop into a big-time defender over time.

But my eye test is telling me that Kuminga has competently answered the challenge pretty consistently. Earlier this season, he bit on a pump fake when they tried to iso him, resulting in a dumb foul. After being spoken to about it, he has rarely (none that I can recall) made the same mistake. It is also rare that guys blow past him. I think he is already demonstrating the seeds of those big-time defensive traits. I'm all for giving him more minutes.

The eye test, the numbers... we need to put away the generic excuses, they're old.

Each person who's using some trope to justify him getting sparse minutes before tonight is doing so without looking at the actual numbers. They want to go at Kuminga? Good - he has the defensive efficiency of GP2 in man situations and is middle of the pack in missed rotations/36 on the team, and ahead of most of the bench players.

The only thing Kerr is protecting when he gets 5 minutes a game is the old vet in front of him

[Twinkie defense]

Kuminga has earned some more minutes but he is not a better post defender than Looney, lol!

[FNQ]

Kuminga has earned some more minutes but he is not a better post defender than Looney, lol!

Looney is a slightly above average man to man post defender.

Kuminga, if his numbers qualified, would be more efficient by 5% FG, and almost a full 0.2 PPP

And this is a trend - Looney's numbers remain where they've been the past 2+ years, and Kuminga had a sterling man defense (in the post) in the GLeague both this year and last. He has a stronger base than Looney and actually fended off 2 top post scorers in the league, in back to back nights, while Looney was torched by one and did OK on the other (Randle)

but those are just numbers, not silly tropes and lols

Remember - Looney's valuable here because he can switch to the perimeter well, and is a solid off-ball guy. When that gets conflated with any and all kinds of defense, then you can get bad generic takes like above. We wont know if Kuminga is better until he gets far more minutes, because he comes in with fresh legs. But even a cursory look at where Sabonis/Randle started vs Kuminga compared to Looney shows that Kuminga's at minimum making it a conversation.

[GunnerWRX]

Kuminga is slowly getting on my untouchable list, unless it is for Giannis/KD/Jokic.

[SpreeChokeJob]

What impressed me about Kuminga was when he was guarding I think Quickley. Quickley tried to make a move and he stayed in front of him. I was like no way a guy of height and size could guard a speedier guard, but he matched him in speed, which was ridiculous.

On offense, if he just recognizes where the shot blockers are on the floor, no one will be able to stop his drives.

[SFrush]

Kuminga can't replace JTA's defense.

And JTA can't replace Kuminga's explosiveness and creativity at the cup. Kuminga can't switch onto guards as easily as JTA and JTA doesn't have as much strength to defend bigs as Kuminga. My point is that when JTA has his WTF games (see Phoenix, 11/30), whatever defensive advantage he might give us is wiped away by his turnovers and bonehead plays. I'd rather see if Kuminga can give us a lift if we know the alternative is JTA or Bjelly is having one of their negative games.

Hey, I want to see more Kuminga too, but Warrior defense is complicated. I don't blame Kerr for not trusting Kuminga yet, especially in tight games or critical situations. Which the Warriors seem to have found themselves in quite often lately.

Kerr has inserted Kuminga for defensive stops to close out quarters. That's the last thing you'll do if you don't trust someone defensively.