How Post can unlock Kuminga upon long-awaited Warriors return originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors’ season shifted from mid and mediocre to an exciting, dangerous team once they added Jimmy Butler at the NBA trade deadline. More than a month after his team debut, the Warriors are bringing in another piece that should increase their odds for the playoffs and more with one month left in the regular season.
Jonathan Kuminga, after missing the last 31 games to a badly sprained right ankle, is expected to make his return Thursday night against the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center. Steve Kerr isn’t going to mess with momentum, meaning Kuminga will come off the bench in short spurts. In his return, and especially as he gets his legs back under him, everybody will want to see how Butler and Kuminga fit together as part of a potential closing lineup.
Coaches have shown Kuminga film of how he can learn from Butler. Clips highlight the many ways Butler makes the game easier for himself and his teammates, keeping the ball moving but also using his strength and smarts to get to the free-throw line. Those are all traits Kuminga can learn from and continue to grow as an overall player.
Yet somebody else who Kuminga hasn’t played with outside of a few seconds might be just as important. Can rookie center Quinten Post help unlock the best of Kuminga?
Kerr tried going big to begin the season, starting Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis together with Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins in the backcourt. Despite the Warriors’ record, Kuminga at small forward didn’t work. The three-man grouping of Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis played seven games together and had a -0.8 net rating with a 112.6 offensive rating and 113.5 defensive rating in 38 minutes. That’s where Post, who has overtaken Jackson-Davis’ spot in the rotation, comes into play.
“I think me and JK will be a great fit together,” Post said to reporters Wednesday at Warriors practice. “Just adds another athletic guy out there with size, length. I think he’s going to help us out on defense, adding another body to the mix. And then offensively he’s just somebody who puts a lot of pressure on the rim.
“Hopefully that leads to a lot of open shots for me.”
Butler’s ability to use his playmaking skills and brute strength in getting to the paint has been huge for Post. The two have played 157 minutes together in Butler’s 13 games and have a 13.0 net rating – 119.6 offensive rating and 106.5 defensive rating.
The best strategy for Kuminga has always been surrounding him with shooters and connectors like Post and Butler. There’s a reason why the players Kuminga has shared the floor with most this season has been Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Green and Curry. Last season, he played the most minutes with Curry and Klay Thompson. The year before that, Kuminga’s second season, he spent his most minutes alongside Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo and Thompson.
But as a rookie, Kuminga played 460 minutes sharing the floor with Nemanja Bjelica, perhaps the closest comparison to Post since the Warriors drafted Kuminga in 2021. Bjelica shot 36.2 percent on 2.1 3-point attempts in his only season playing for the Warriors, at 33 years old in what was his final NBA season.
Post through his first 27 NBA games is taking four 3-pointers per game and shooting 41.7 percent from deep.
“In theory, they should be pretty good together on offense, because you have the spacing of QP and the slashing of JK,” Kerr said. “I imagine we’ll find some lineup where those guys are together, too.”
Back in training camp, Kuminga declared himself a small forward. Kerr made it known he believes he’s a power forward. The caveat was putting Kuminga next to a stretch big. It’s part of what made a possible trade for Lauri Markkanen or Nikola Vučević so intriguing.
The Warriors now have an in-house option to pair him next to.
Podziemski’s lower back soreness will keep him out of the Warriors’ game Thursday night against the Kings. Post likely will start, joining Curry, Butler, Green and Moses Moody. Whether it’s early in the game, the middle or end, the duo to pay close attention to will be a rookie and the re-emergence of what Kuminga can bring to a team that now views themselves as contenders.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast