Butler Trying To Bridge Gap Between Kuminga, Warriors

After a lengthy contract standoff over the offseason resulted in Jonathan Kuminga re-signing with the Warriors on a two-year, $46.8MM deal, the fifth-year foward helped the team get off to a strong start this fall, with Golden State going 4-1 over its first five games.

Kuminga, who was in the starting lineup for all five of those games, was named a full-time starter by head coach Steve Kerr in late October. Yet after the Warriors struggled over their next seven contests — they went 2-5 over that span — Kerr pulled Kuminga from the starting lineup, a demotion the former lottery pick took hard, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN.

“He feels like the scapegoat again,” one team source told ESPN.

There is lingering tension between the two sides following the “contentious” restricted free agency negotiations, Slater writes, but the Warriors still believe they need Kuminga to play an important role to hit their ceiling in 2025/26, even if the relationship doesn’t last beyond the February 5 trade deadline. According to Slater, several members of the organization and people close to Kuminga all believe Jimmy Butler has the best chance of salvaging a situation that has long been on shaky ground.

“I feel like, in this league, he’s one of the people that actually [has] been in my shoes throughout their career,” Kuminga said. “And knows what I’ve been going through.”

As Slater details, Butler has befriended Kuminga and has been working with him to try and maximize his considerable talent. He also views a little bit of himself in his younger teammate.

“I think everybody comes to that steppingstone moment in their career where you know that you can get over that hump,” Butler said. “Some people are like, ‘Nah, you’re not ready for that yet.’ But you know better. I think that’s where he is. I was at that point [with Chicago].”

While Butler refers to himself as Kuminga’s “No. 1” fan, he says he’s not in the 23-year-old’s corner just to tell him what he wants to hear.

“I realize that he listens to me,” Butler said, per Slater. “He respects me. And I don’t ever take that for granted. But I’m always going to tell him the truth, too. And when JK doing some bulls—, I’m going to tell him we can’t have that, man.”

Slater’s story features several more interesting details and quotes and is worth checking out in full.

Kuminga, who has been battling knee tendinitis in recent weeks, will miss his fifth straight game on Friday, Slater tweets.