Steve Kerr and the Warriors couldn't get on the same page when it came to Jonathan Kuminga, and after years of back-and-forth, they finally traded him at this season's deadline. You can say that the forward is making his former head coach look silly right now, as he's fresh off another big playoff performance, dropping 21 points in the Atlanta Hawks' 109-108 Game 3 win over the Knicks.
After February's trade, Anthony Slater of ESPN reported that in December, Kerr and Kuminga had a meeting where "exasperation boiled over."
Frustrations were let out on both sides -- Kerr voicing his displeasure with Kuminga's lack of buy-in and competitiveness toward the team goals and Kuminga letting out his hurt about Kerr's longtime lack of belief in him as a player.
Jonathan Kuminga keeps proving Steve Kerr wrong
There are no questions about Kuminga's buy-in with his new team and his competitiveness toward the Hawks' goals. It helps, of course, that Quin Snyder believes in him.
Quin Snyder on Kuminga:
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 24, 2026
"Jonathan's just been all in...tonight he did some things that really gave our team a lift. I think the biggest thing he's done is he's just defended. Another guy that's in there competing and defending" pic.twitter.com/QJ5hC78cyz
Snyder rolled with Kuminga for the last six minutes of the game, subbing him in for Dyson Daniels, who didn't re-enter until the final play of the game, when the Knicks had the ball with 12.5 seconds left. It was fitting that Kuminga was the one to come up with the steal to seal the deal for the Hawks.
DIDN'T EVEN LET THEM GET A SHOT OFF CLAMP CITYYYYYYYY 🔒🔒🔒 pic.twitter.com/A0pPXVD0L8
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 24, 2026
The 23-year-old patiently waited for the opportunity that he has now. To think that it was only a few months ago when he was racking up DNPs with the Warriors. Kerr and the Warriors hurt the forward's trade value in the process, although their motivation behind re-signing him in restricted free agency was to flip him at the deadline. Their Kuminga strategy never made sense, from the beginning until the end.
Jonathan Kuminga is right where he belongs
It's a good thing for the Hawks that it didn't. Atlanta wasn't a team on people's radar for a Kuminga trade, but somehow, even with questions about fit, it's turned out to be what looks like the perfect spot for him. He's playing loose and happy. Who would've thought that having the trust of your coach would make that much of a difference?
Joe Lacob, the Warriors' owner who was all-in on Kuminga from the start, is probably having an "I told you so" moment right now. It's too little too late, though.
Kuminga desperately needed a fresh start, away from Kerr, and he got just that.
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