The Golden State Warriors have fallen hard from grace in the last 15 months or so, and with a 20-24 record, the likelihood of them merely making the play-in tournament is dwindling with each passing day.
Many have been speculating about them possibly making a trade in order to salvage what’s left of the season, not to mention which players they may be willing to part with in such a trade.
One player whose name has come up is forward Jonathan Kuminga, whom many have been disappointed in, but teammate Draymond Green had some glowing things to say about him, via The Volume.
“Jonathan Kuminga is a star, man,” Green said. “That young fella is a stud.”
JONATHAN KUMINGA IS A STAR 🗣️ @Money23Green pic.twitter.com/EN2qyNkFAm
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) January 31, 2024
Kuminga was the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft, and when the Warriors won the NBA championship during his rookie season, it looked like he, along with a few other young players, would help them remain contenders while allowing Green, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson to age gracefully.
But Kuminga failed to show any measurable improvement last season, and thus some felt their best bet to improve would be to package him in a trade.
However, so far this season, he has upped his scoring average to 14.8 points a game, and as Green pointed out, he has scored at least 20 points in each of his last seven contests.
A number of Golden State’s players have underachieved this season, including Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, which has made Kuminga’s excellent play of late that much more fortunate and valuable.
On Friday, they will start a five-game road trip and will play 11 of their next 16 games on the road, and this upcoming stretch could determine if they will have any shot at making it to the postseason.
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