Kurtenbach: The Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga saga only ends with losers

Chicago in December has the kind of cold that doesn t spare a single inch But the warmest place in the Windy City might have been the chair occupied by Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga at United Center Sunday night A DNP-Coach s Decision for a healthy former No overall pick who just signed a contract making him the Warriors fourth-highest-paid participant isn t a message or nudge It is a scream It s Steve Kerr standing on the scorers table with a megaphone announcing to the league that he would rather play a rotating cast of try-hards and NBA geriatrics than watch Kuminga miss another box-out treat a defensive rotation like a strictly optional suggestion or stop the ball dead for another -dribble isolation experiment This is the final salvo The final straw Kerr is telling Kuminga Buy in do the little things and stop playing like an NBA competition is nothing more than the first draft of a YouTube highlight reel If this feels like d j vu that s because we are trapped in the basketball version of Groundhog Day only Bill Murray is a disgruntled forward who refuses to set a screen Related Articles Warriors Jonathan Kuminga describes relationship with Kerr after benching Warriors instant analysis Jimmy Butler leads winning effort in return to Chicago Warriors instant analysis Pat Spencer leads ragtag group to stunning win over Cavs Warriors injury updates Draymond Green Jimmy Butler Seth Curry questionable for Cleveland Pat Spencer has earned a bigger role Can the Warriors give it to him Kerr has already tried the carrot He handed Kuminga a permanent starting job on a silver platter after the forward indicated a modicum of buy-in to start the season He praised the athleticism He lauded the professionalism He gave Kuminga all the external validation that he could handle for doing the right thing for like a week And how did Kuminga respond By rolling his eyes and promptly reverting to his factory settings which is me-first basketball So now Kerr is using the stick Again Benching Kuminga entirely against the Bulls wasn t just tactical it was punitive It was Kerr saying purely I cannot trust you And trust is the currency of the realm in the Church of the Golden State Warriors You don t have to be Stephen Curry to thrive in this system but you do have to genuflect at the altar of ball movement and defensive connectivity Kuminga however has made it undeniably clear that he believes he should be the subject of the stained-glass windows To his credit Kuminga mentioned all the right things after the DNP He was professional He talked about staying ready Don t buy it Kuminga is smart He has a lot of practice in Saying The Right Thing to ensure he doesn t get labeled toxic before he can secure his next bag He leaves the outlandish comments to his agent and a steady collection of non-ball-knower fanboys on social media The real story lies behind the scenes where Kuminga becomes aloof and passive when confronted agreeing to everything to end the conversation so he can go back to doing exactly what he wants when he gets his next chance Headstrong That s just the start What has changed How has Kuminga appreciably consistently shown any advance from his age- season It s the Mamba Mentality gone wrong Because despite Kuminga s belief he is not the next Kobe Bryant For a while now it s been clear that the Warriors brass would have to choose between Kuminga and Kerr They ve tried to have it both strategies Someone has to go and forgive me for picking the coach Related Articles Warriors Jonathan Kuminga describes relationship with Kerr after benching Warriors instant analysis Jimmy Butler leads winning effort in return to Chicago Warriors instant analysis Pat Spencer leads ragtag group to stunning win over Cavs Warriors injury updates Draymond Green Jimmy Butler Seth Curry questionable for Cleveland Pat Spencer has earned a bigger role Can the Warriors give it to him Now Kuminga knows that publicly torching a four-time champion coach is bad business so he smiles and nods and pretends he cares about what s being laid down It s performance art so it never reflects in his performance on the court And here is the cruel irony of the situation the part that makes this entire saga so frustratingly stupid This stalemate is mutually assured destruction Kuminga wants to be The Guy He wants out of Golden State so he can spread his wings and fly and shoot times a event But by refusing to adapt his championship to a company paying him more than million a year he is actively lighting his own pact value on fire There might still be selected marks out there but general managers around this league aren t blind They see the DNP They see the lack of on-court awareness They see a guy who thinks being a role contestant is beneath him despite having never proven he can impact winning in any serious quota Which NBA club is out there watching this and thinking That s what we need Even the Kings have to wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze And does Kuminga not know he s dealing with an organization whose leader considers it a personal affront to lose any deal The Warriors had offers for Kuminga in a sign-and-trade this summer Decent offers Offers they would kill to have on the table right now But they didn t take them They bet on the talent They sought to maximize And because the Warriors passed then we now find ourselves in an all-too-predictable addition-by-subtraction scenario Will the Warriors be willing to admit defeat There s no guarantee there Because best-case scenario they re hoping there s specific five-team supertrade they can sneak Kuminga into Otherwise they re taking on another squad s bad money just to wash their hands of this situation That s going to be certain harsh medicine to take but that s what you get for not taking care of a concern when it first arrives for thinking you can fix it yourself Kuminga s highest value to the Warriors to the deal industry and to his own bank account was during that brief flickering moment when he bought in to start the year months before he was eligible to be traded That s when he cut hard defended with purpose and crashed the glass That performer is an asset That performer brings back a decent haul Does Kuminga think those five games carry enough weight to carry him out of town If so he s made a critical miscalculation Because the member sitting on the bench in Chicago watching the contest like a fan with better seats but no drink menu and a personal waiter He isn t worth a thing to anyone But the Warriors needed to salvage a season that was starting to spiral so they slapped a salvage title on Kuminga Kerr will play him again He has to But don t expect an epiphany We ve seen the carrot we ve seen the stick and we ve heard the quotes But actions speak louder than words What have we seen from Kuminga that makes anyone believe he s ready to be a professional on the court to be the Shawn Marion the Warriors want and need him to be Until Kuminga realizes that helping the Warriors is the only way to help himself until he can be moved on Jan we re all just watching a challenge of chicken where both cars have already driven off the cliff I m not holding my breath that long