What kind of role will lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga play in his rookie year with the Warriors? Coach Steve Kerr doesn’t have the answer in the early portion of training camp, as Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “I think that’s kind of the question going into this year,” Kerr said. “It’s what we’re going to have to figure out.” Kuminga has shown that he’s not as raw an offensive talent as he’s been labeled. Kerr says Kuminga’s ability to get playing time will be a function of whether the team can count on him defensively.
We have more on the Warriors:
- Stephen Curry is relieved that Andrew Wiggins chose to get vaccinated, which will allow him to practice and play in home games, Connor Letorneau of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. “It’s great he’s going to be available. … We’re excited to have him,” Curry said. “It’s a good sign of handling his responsibilities as part of the team.”
- Golden State has 13 players on guaranteed contracts and several veterans on non-guaranteed deals. Curry anticipates that guard Avery Bradley will be one of the latter players who makes the cut, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Bradley signed a one-year camp deal late last month. “I think that’s why he’s here,” Curry said, adding in the video post, “Everyone asks who are some of the toughest defenders you’ve had, he’s the first guy that comes to mind.”
- Otto Porter Jr.‘s shooting ability could earn him a steady role, particularly at the power forward spot, as long as he stays healthy, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. Porter was signed to a veteran’s minimum deal early in free agency. “Watching him in practice, he shoots it from all over,” Kerr said. “He can be a pick-and-pop guy at the top of the key. He could space the floor from the corner and catch and shoot from there.”
Looks like Curry is trying to motivate all 3 of them – Bradley, Payton, and even Lee.
Chances are they will only carry 14 players to start the season, so that probably means that Bradley and Damion Lee are fighting for the last spot.
They also have an open two-way spot for one of the young guys.
Of course he is, he’s the leader of the team.
I attended a lot of Summer League games. Kuminga was among the best players I saw.
He’s the best 18 yo Ive seen in a very long time.
If Kerr is real. And it’s his D that will determine his PT. Then I say he should start. His D should be way ahead at this point. I mean team D. Kuminga looks like a great 2way player to me. His shot is what needs the most work, consistency. Imo I would start him at the 3 and move Wiggins to the 2 till Klay comes back. I like Kumingas gm. He will learn a lot from Green. Curry should help him with his shot.
Porter at 198 LBs. I don’t see a PF. He can do well here. His shot falls he will help. He should get good looks in this offense. It fits his gm better. Warriors success depends on young guys fitting in. And Klay getting in gm shape. I think we’ll see the real team in second half of season. I like their young talent a lot.
I think Kuminga will play some ball in the G league to get minutes once Thompson comes back. The bench will be much better than last year. Biggest concern will be injuries. If they stay healthy I see them as a 3 or 4 seed.
Kuminga is too rough to play big minutes for Kerr, i still believe they should have packed those picks for true OG ring chasers
There was nobody available to trade for. With no cap space it made it even harder to trade for anyone.
The problem is Klay has to get (fully) healthy before he can stay healthy, and even then it will take most of whatever is left of this season for him to get back in game shape after missing two full seasons. They shouldn’t expect him to be anything close to 100% until the 2022-23 season. That’s realistic.
I am expecting Thompson to play 20 minute games for a while until he gets back into shape. I also see Poole getting more up to 30 minutes a game. My biggest worry is not Thompson but keeping the 2 centers healthy all year.
He can play man D, but there system will take a little time.
So many Porter Jr in the nba
All of them have good price this season.
Kevin Porter is an absolute bargain at only $2M/year, thank you Cleveland.
OKC asked them to give you a present for the CP3 trade))
To recap:
OKC turned Russ into Rubio (traded to MIN for a 1st), Oubre (traded to GSW for a 1st), 1st from PHX, 2 1sts and 2 swaps from HOU – 5 1sts and 2 swaps
HOU turned CP3 into John Walls contract and a 1st form WAS
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the worst trade since… James Harden from OKC to HOU.
I think its poetic that Harden himself was aquired in the best trade for HOU, only to force them to make the worst trade
Mr Curry that is called caving in to peer pressure & collective bullying… which by no means can be confused with handling his responsibilities, right?
This Warriors team is going 65-17 if they don’t suffer too many injuries. This is a terrifying squad.
Last night was a shot across the board of the league – this might be one of the best defensive teams of all time, oh, and they added actual, real-deal shooters to Curry, a thing that they never actually tried before. They had the biggest morons in the NBA getting serious minutes last year (Bazemore, Oubre, Wanamaker, Smailagic) and replaced them with high IQ veterans like Otto and Bjelica, and then there’s Kuminga, one of the best 18 year olds we’ve seen in a long time – it truly is over for the NBA if this team stays THIS deep. Might even break the wins record if no one gets hurt. Curry is still locked in MVP mode. Yikes.
Way too much to ask for or expect with how deep the west is. You can see Poole as being the next big all star for warriors. His shot looks great. No standing around and watching the game like last year’s 4 outcast did.
I know it’s just the first preseason game but the team last night looked dramatically different than those of the last couple of years.