Jonathan Kuminga fell to the Warriors at No. 7 in the draft and then at Summer League flashed incredible potential. He’s also very raw and has a long way to go, he needs time on the court.
Which is why the news he is out a week with a knee strain is less than ideal.
Jonathan Kuminga (strained patellar tendon) will be reevaluated in one week, per Warriors.
— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) October 7, 2021
Kuminga tweaked his knee in the fourth quarter of the Warriors preseason game against Denver on Wednesday. He left the game, but there were no details until today.
While not ideal, it could have been worse, this is a minor injury and he will only miss a week.
Steve Kerr has a tricky balancing act, trying to get minutes to develop Kuminga — and Moses Moody, the No. 14 pick — while winning games with an established veteran core, including Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Right now, the two parts of that equation are reportedly not mingling much on the court, but we will see how much that changes as the season moves along.
Kuminga will have to earn minutes; he didn’t get drafted onto a bad team willing to throw him in the deep end and let him learn to swim. On that path, every minute Kuminga gets on the court matters, so at least he’s not missing much time with this injury.
