NBA Rumors: The Golden State Warriors may not be sold on Jonathan Kuminga's long-term fit with the team.
After losing Klay Thompson in free agency this past offseason, the Golden State Warriors were left scrambling in trying to find a collection of players who could help fill the production void that's going to be left. Jonathan Kuminga, the team's talented fourth-year versatile forward, is expected to be part of the efforts to replace Klay's production this season.
However, the Warriors could find it difficult to find the right role for Kuminga this season. According to a recent report, there are some in the coaching staff who aren't sold on the idea of Kuminga starting at the small forward position. If the Warriors can't start him at the small forward position, they'd have to play exceptionally small with Draymond Green at the 5. While there was a point in his career where that wouldn't have been an issue, I'm not sure Green is still at a level in his game where he can start at the center position for an extended period of time.
That means if the Warriors do want to start a true center, it could leave Kuminga on the outside looking in on the team's starting 5. If the pre-season is any indication, the Warriors have been experimenting a bit with their starting lineup and I'm not sure they're locked in with any particular approach just yet.
But if Kuminga is viewed as a player who can fill the starting small forward position, it does complicate things a bit heading into such a critical season for his future.
Jonathan Kuminga may need a change of scenery
How accurate this report is will be decided by how this season pans out for Kuminga in Golden State. However, one thing is clear, his future with the Warriors is very much complicated at this point. What makes matters even worse is the fact that he's entering the final year of his deal with the team. If a contract extension isn't agreed upon within the next week (before the October 23 deadline), Kuminga is going to hit the restricted free agency market next summer.
Even though it's a scenario that both parties would almost certainly want to avoid, it does seem pretty inevitable at this point (especially with everything that's been reported on the contract talks between the Warriors and Kuminga.
But if there are schematic fits for Kuminga, this is certainly not the time when you want them to pop up. Kuminga is trying to secure not only an established role with the Warriors this season but also to get some clarity on his future in the way of a long-term contract extension.
If the Warriors have concerns about his fit on the team, it won't make sense to give him the contract offer he's looking for before the rookie-scale extension deadline.
The Warriors and Kuminga have some sorting out to do this season. And to be perfectly honest, it's hard to predict how the situation between the two sides will get settled after this season. Heading into the start of the new NBA campaign, it's certainly a situation that bears watching.