Getty

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr shakes hands with Jonathan Kuminga.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s latest decision is bad news to soon-to-be-restricted-free-agent Jonathan Kuminga.

On Friday, Feb. 21, the Warriors continued their hot start with their new wing Jimmy Butler, giving the Sacramento Kings a royal beating 132-108. They improved to 4-1 with Butler and two games above .500 to climb to ninth seed in the Western Conference.

The Warriors are just 2.5 games outside the top six, which would give them an automatic playoff berth thanks to Butler fitting in seamlessly with their small-ball starting group.

Kerr liked what he saw from the current starting group of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Butler, Moses Moody and Draymond Green so much that he’s keeping them.

“I imagine we will stay with this lineup,” Kerr told reporters. “I hope so. Because we’ve had a million different starting lineups this year. It’d be really nice to stick with this for the rest of the season and keep building continuity with our lineups.”

As the adage says, “Why fix if ain’t broke?”

So where does this leave Kuminga, whose return from a significant ankle sprain is imminent?

“JK was coming off the bench before he got injured and was playing really well, playing 30-plus minutes,” Kerr continued. “We had that rotation before he got hurt. We’re playing well right now. Hopefully, that continues. I’m never going to commit to anything because it’s dependent on how we’re playing. But if we keep playing like this, we’ll keep starting this way.”

Steve Kerr Makes His Case

While Kuminga might feel he’s earned a starting spot with his next contract at stake, Kerr has a good reason to believe it’s the right thing to do.

In 10 starts this season, Kumimga averaged 16.8 points while shooting 45% overall and 31.8% of his 3s with 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He’s more efficient coming off the bench, averaging 16.7 points on 46.3% shooting and 36.3% from the 3-point line, with 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Kerr doubled down on his decision to keep the current starting lineup, which could be seen as a knock on Kuminga’s defense.

“I think it’s the best two-way starting group we can put on the floor,” Kerr said. “You get Moses’ shooting, you get BP’s playmaking to go with Steph and Jimmy. Then Draymond and Jimmy at the five and four defensively behind the play. We lack size, but we have a lot of brainpower back there.”

Jonathan Kuminga at the Crossroads

The Warriors announced late Wednesday, Feb. 19, that their rising forward Jonathan Kuminga has returned to practice.

Kuminga has been out since Jan. 4 after suffering a significant sprained right ankle against the Memphis Grizzlies.

According to the Warriors medical update, Kuminga’s return will “be based on his continued progress and physical readiness.”

Kuminga’s reintegration into the new-look Warriors will be one of the keys to their playoff push. His play and fit when he returns will be crucial also in the Warriors’ looming decision this offseason.

Kuminga was “aiming for” a $35 million annual salary during their failed extension talks in the offseason, Slater reported in the last offseason.

That’s a lot of money for a Sixth Man.