San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Kerr downplays report of Kuminga rift
Barely 12 hours after watching his team collapse down the stretch against Denver, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr found himself dealing with the fallout Friday.
Jonathan Kuminga has “lost faith” in Kerr in the wake of Thursday night’s loss to the Nuggets, according to a report in the Athletic that cited anonymous sources. Kuminga did not play in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors squandered an 18-point lead and fell on Nikola Jokic’s last-second shot.
Kerr said he and Kuminga talked Friday, after the report suggested Kuminga no longer believes Kerr “will allow him to reach his full potential.”
“Obviously, those things are better discussed behind the scenes,” Kerr said before his team’s game against Detroit. “Anytime something like that goes public, it creates a distraction. I talk to our whole team about it: If you have an issue, I’m here. I’m probably the most accessible coach in the league, my door is always open. …
“JK is a young player who is growing and getting better, that’s why he’s been in the starting lineup. This is all part of his growth.”
Kuminga moved into the starting lineup Dec. 14, the first game of Draymond Green’s suspension, and he has made every start since then (12 in all counting Friday night). He had played 23 or more minutes in all but three of those games before Friday, with averages of 14.6 points (on 57% shooting from the field) and 5.4 rebounds.
Kerr removed Kuminga with 5:48 left in the third quarter Thursday night. The Warriors trailed 86-84 at the time, but they surged to a 13-point lead by the end of the quarter, with Dario Saric, Andrew Wiggins and Trayce Jackson-Davis on the frontline.
Wiggins and Saric stayed on the court to begin the fourth quarter, until Kevon Looney replaced Saric at the 7:57 mark. Kerr later said he chose not to put Kuminga back in the game at his usual time, midway through the fourth, because the Warriors were rolling — they stretched their lead to 18 points, so Kerr stuck with Wiggins.
But Kerr left himself open to second-guessing when he kept Kuminga on the bench even as Golden State’s lead started to slip away over the final six-plus minutes. That was puzzling at best.
Kerr looked at the box score after the game, he said, and was surprised to see Kuminga only played 19 minutes.
“I’ve got to get him out there for longer,” Kerr said Friday, “but these are really difficult decisions, because it’s not as simple as how many minutes a guy plays. It’s also who plays and what’s the combination, what’s happening in the game.”
As for any concerns about players becoming frustrated with how they’re used, Kerr said, “I played 15 years (in the NBA), and all 15 I was frustrated with my playing time. This is how it works.”
Wiseman returns: Friday night’s game marked the return to San Francisco of Detroit center James Wiseman, who spent the first 2 1⁄2 seasons of his career with the Warriors.
Wiseman mostly has struggled this season (mirroring his team), averaging 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in a career-low 14.3 minutes per game entering Friday. His net rating of minus-15.3, meaning the Pistons had been outscored by more than 15 points per 100 possessions with him on the court, is one of the worst in the NBA.
Even so, Wiseman played well in Detroit’s wild, 154-148 overtime loss Wednesday night in Utah. He collected eight points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes, posting a season-best plus-11.
Wiseman will become a restricted free agent in the offseason, when his four-year, $39.6 million contract expires.