Jonathan Kuminga’s tenure with the Golden State Warriors ended earlier than both aspect absolutely realized the potential many envisioned when he was chosen seventh general within the 2021 NBA Draft. But considered one of Kuminga’s greatest supporters stays satisfied that the 23-year-old ahead is way from a completed product.
Talking on The Kevin O’Connor Present, Draymond Inexperienced revisited what he referred to as his greatest draft prediction. Whereas acknowledging that Kuminga’s time in Golden State in the end didn’t work out, Inexperienced maintained that he nonetheless sees star potential within the athletic ahead.
“My greatest draft miss,” Inexperienced mentioned, through HoopsHype. “I’ll take it as a miss as a result of it didn’t work. However I nonetheless suppose this man has the potential to turn out to be a star on this league. I used to be tremendous on the practice of draft Jonathan Kuminga.”
Inexperienced pointed to Kuminga’s latest playoff efficiency as proof that his improvement stays on an upward trajectory. Kuminga was traded to the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 5 alongside Buddy Hield in change for Kristaps Porzingis, ending a partnership that lasted practically 5 seasons.
Following the transfer, Kuminga helped Atlanta attain the playoffs after the Hawks completed 46-36 and secured the sixth seed within the Japanese Convention. In six first-round video games in opposition to the eventual Japanese Convention champion New York Knicks, Kuminga averaged 13.7 factors, 3.3 rebounds and shot 48.3% from the sphere whereas logging 26.0 minutes per recreation. Though Atlanta lost the series 4-2, Inexperienced considered the efficiency as an encouraging signal.
“Watch what he did in his playoffs off of two months with a company,” Inexperienced mentioned. “I feel that’s the beginning of one thing.”
Kuminga’s regular-season manufacturing dipped considerably throughout the 2025-26 marketing campaign, largely because of fluctuating roles with each organizations. Throughout 36 video games between Golden State and Atlanta, he averaged 12.2 factors, 5.6 rebounds and a pair of.3 assists in 23.1 minutes per recreation whereas capturing 46.3% from the sphere and 33.3% from three-point vary.
These numbers represented a decline from the 2023-24 season, when Kuminga seemed to be making a major leap. That 12 months he averaged a career-high 16.1 factors on 52.9% capturing whereas beginning 46 video games for the Warriors.
The problem for Kuminga in Golden State was consistency and match. Regardless of flashes of elite athleticism, downhill scoring capacity and defensive versatility, he by no means absolutely secured a long-term featured function in a veteran-led roster constructed round Inexperienced, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. The Warriors completed simply 37-45 in 2025-26 and missed the playoffs after touchdown in tenth place within the Western Convention, prompting main roster modifications.
Inexperienced urged the scenario, quite than the expertise, was the first concern.
“It simply didn’t work in Golden State,” Inexperienced mentioned.
