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Jimmy Butler of the Golden State Warriors talks with head coach Steve Kerr against the Chicago Bulls.

The biggest question hanging above the Golden State Warriors in the homestretch of the season remains unanswered.

How can Jonathan Kuminga and Jimmy Butler co-exist?

Golden State coach Steve Kerr has staggered their minutes. And the numbers in the few possessions they were on the court together with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are bad though it should be noted it’s just a small sample size.

That lineup with Gary Payton II has a minus-1.8 point differential, per Cleaning The Glass. With Moses Moody, it’s minus-25.0. With Brandin Podziemski, it’s minus-40.

Kerr pointed to the spacing issue having Butler with Kuminga, who is shooting an atrocious 17.6% from the 3-point line since his return from a significant ankle injury. Butler is also non-shooting forward, hitting just 21.7% of his 3s since joining the Warriors at the trade deadline. Butler is better than Kuminga in all aspects of the game except for youthful athleticism.

“Jimmy is, I’ve talked about this, he’s one of the best [isolation] players in the league,” Kerr said, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, following Thursday’s practice in New Orleans. “So if you’re
gonna run iso-offense, you need spacing, proper cutting and proper movement. Jimmy just got here, obviously, one month ago so we’re still adapting your spacing.  Within those [isolation plays] requires us to put the right combinations out there and teach the guys where to be and how to connect the plays and JK is still adapting.”

Steve Kerr Challenges Jonathan Kuminga

Kerr has issued a strong challenge to Jonathan Kuminga in the wake of Payton II’s thumb injury.

“Well, it opens up an opportunity for JK to be that defensive stopper, the guy whom we’ve relied on Gary to be,” Kerr said, per Slater. “JK is the obvious guy. Put him on the best offensive player, pick up full like harass people like Gary does, and I asked him to do that.”

The Warriors announced on Thursday that Payton II suffered a partial tear of a ligament in his left thumb during Tuesday’s blowout loss against the Heat in Miami. He will be re-evaluated in one week.

“[Payton II’s injury] opens up more minutes for him,” Kerr said of Kuminga. “He’s effective with that. And then again, it’s mix and match, game to game, depending on who’s playing well and how we’re playing.”

Kerr believes Kuminga, with his 6-foot-7 frame and a 7-foot wingspan, has the physical tools to fill in the point-of-attack defensive void left by Payton II.

“He’s got a lot of potential in that regard,” Kerr said of Kuminga. “And I think it’s right there for him to, like I said, give him some tough assignments coming up but it’s always in the context of the team defense — five-man unit — which applies to everybody no matter if you’re on-ball defender, off-ball defender, you got to be in sync with everyone else.”

Nets Tipped as Threat to Pry Jonathan Kuminga Away

Bleacher Report’s salary cap expert Eric Pincus named Kuminga as the Warriors’ “biggest flight risk” in the offseason.

“The Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga weren’t on the same page in extension talks before the season. That will come to a head in July when Kuminga becomes a restricted free agent,” Pincus wrote. “The [Brooklyn] Nets can easily scare off Golden State with an overpay, but would a starting salary of $25 million from the Pistons be enough?”

The Nets are projected to have the most cap room in the offseason and they can offer Kuminga the runway he’s never had with the Warriors.

So it’s crucial for the Warriors to figure out this Butler-Kuminga fit heading to the postseason.