Jonathan Kuminga Aiming To Return Saturday
After scrimmaging with the Warriors‘ G League team on Wednesday, forward Jonathan Kuminga is targeting Saturday’s home game against the Pelicans for his return to action, he tells Anthony Slater of ESPN.
Kuminga has missed the past seven contests due to what the Warriors have referred to on their injury report as bilateral knee tendonitis. Initial reporting on Kuminga’s injury suggested it wasn’t considered significant and he was viewed as day-to-day, but he has remained on the shelf for over two weeks due to some lingering soreness.
Kuminga started Golden State’s first 12 games of the season and played well enough during the first week in October to earn a vote of confidence from head coach Steve Kerr, who declared that the fifth-year forward had earned a permanent spot in the starting lineup. However, with the Warriors struggling and Kuminga’s production less consistent during the first half of November, he was moved to the second unit for his last healthy game, on November 12, in San Antonio.
While it remains to be seen what Kuminga’s role will look like upon his return, the Warriors are in need of some scoring punch, as star guard Stephen Curry exited Wednesday’s loss to Houston due to a quad contusion and could end up missing a little time as a result of that injury.
Even with Curry available, the Warriors haven’t exactly been piling up points. They rank 22nd in the NBA with a 113.2 offensive rating, and all eight teams below Golden State on that list are at least five games below .500.
Pacific Notes: Allen, Dunn, Kuminga, Melton, LeBron
Suns guard Grayson Allen is missing his sixth straight game tonight with a right quad contusion, but the team is hoping he can return this weekend, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Phoenix plays at Oklahoma City Friday night, then returns home to face Denver on Saturday, so it’s possible Allen could be cleared for at least one of those games.
“Thought it was day-to-day,” coach Jordan Ott said in Wednesday’s pregame press conference. “It’s dragged on a little bit. It was just not your average quad contusion. He got a good one, but he’s still making progress. The goal is to continue to assess, see the progress that he makes day-to-day and get him out there this weekend.”
Allen played an important role in the Suns’ strong start, averaging 18.5 points per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 44.7% from three-point range. He got hurt in a November 13 game, and team doctors eventually realized the injury was more severe than it first appeared.
“The last couple of days where it’s like, OK, he’s making progress, but he’s not out there with us,” Ott said. “He had swelling. We don’t know exactly how long it was going to take. He’s still in a good place. Just now we’re not practicing, there are so many of these games you don’t seem him out there to go up and down, 5-on-5, but he did his stuff post shootaround today. The goal is to get him out there as fast as possible.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Ott also provided an update on Ryan Dunn, who is missing his third straight game with a sprained right wrist, Rankin adds. The second-year small forward worked on conditioning and ball-handling after the Suns‘ shootaround this morning. “He’s obviously handling the ball a little bit more,” Ott said. “The shooting piece will come when he feels good. That could take a jump at any time.”
- Coach Steve Kerr was encouraged after watching Jonathan Kuminga, De’Anthony Melton and Gui Santos scrimmage with the Warriors‘ G League team on Wednesday, writes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. He said Kuminga “looked good” and is “moving well” as he works his way back from bilateral knee tendonitis. Kerr had a similar review of Melton, who’s recovering from a torn ACL, adding, “The toughest challenge for him will be rhythm.”
- LeBron James experienced conditioning issues Sunday in Utah, but he looked more like his normal self as the Lakers defeated the Clippers on Tuesday, per Thuc Nhi Nguyen of The Los Angeles Times. Playing his third game since returning from sciatica, James posted 25 points, six rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes. “It will get better every game,” he responded when asked about his conditioning. “Today was another … testament to that. So great win for us, but I’m starting to feel better and better.”
Pacific Notes: Melton, Kuminga, Murray, Christie, Brooks
The Warriors assigned a trio of players to the G League on Wednesday, with guard De’Anthony Melton and forwards Jonathan Kuminga and Gui Santos all joining the Santa Cruz Warriors in order to scrimmage, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN. Santos was getting some conditioning work in, while Melton and Kuminga are in the final stages of injury recoveries.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Warriors are optimistic that Melton will be able to make his season debut following an ACL tear during the first week of December. The veteran guard is due to be reevaluated this weekend.
As for Kuminga, who has been sidelined due to bilateral knee tendonitis, the hope is that he won’t have any setbacks during his scrimmages with Santa Cruz. If that’s the case, there’s an expectation that the fifth-year forward could be back on the court at some point during Golden State’s current home stand, which wraps up on December 2, Siegel reports.
We have more from around the Pacific:
- The Kings have won two of three games since Keegan Murray made his season debut, and the fourth-year forward was especially effective in Monday’s overtime victory over Minnesota, with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Teammate DeMar DeRozan spoke after that win about what Murray’s return means to the team, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee relays (via Twitter). “It’s everything,” DeRozan said. “Keegan is the key to this team. It’s his team. He’s one of those guys who’s going to be very, very special in this league and he’s showing it.”
- While there have been some questions about Doug Christie‘s job security in Sacramento, Kings general manager Scott Perry told Sam Amick of The Athletic this week that he has “complete confidence” in Christie to “lead this team into better times.” Sacramento’s head coach appreciated the public show of support, according to Anderson. “His backing, the alignment from him, is huge,” Christie said. “He hasn’t said anything to me differently, so I’m glad that he said that (publicly). More than anything, it’s about us playing a style and a brand of basketball that Sacramento Kings fans can be proud of. On the path to that, there are a lot of steps to that, but first things first. I appreciate that from Scott. Obviously, when the boss speaks highly of you, it’s a good thing.”
- Playing against the Rockets on Monday for the first time since Houston traded him to Phoenix over the summer, Suns forward Dillon Brooks talked trash to his former teammates and accused them of flopping, writes Doug Haller of The Athletic. However, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka took it in stride, telling reporters that Brooks’ impact during his two years in Houston was “invaluable” and he doesn’t mind the forward’s tendency to push boundaries. “To bring in a veteran, like him and Fred (Van Vleet), to change the culture and environment, the competitiveness on a nightly basis,” Udoka said. “You’ve seen that happen here. I don’t mind at all. We both toe the line I guess at times, but he’s a guy that I love and have a ton of respect for.”
Warriors Notes: Kuminga, Green, Butler
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga will miss his seventh consecutive game on Wednesday against the Rockets due to knee tendinitis. He told ESPN’s Anthony Slater he’ll be back in action “soon” (Twitter link).
Kuminga participated in some 3-on-3 scrimmages during Tuesday’s practice and will scrimmage on Wednesday as well. Warriors beat writer Monte Poole tweets.
Kuminga had played well prior to the injury, averaging 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Al Horford also won’t play on Wednesday due to a nerve issue.
We have more on the Warriors:
- Draymond Green has been upgraded to probable for Wednesday’s game, Slater tweets. Green sat out Monday’s 17-point win over the Jazz due to a foot sprain. Green holds a $27.7MM player option next offseason on the final year of his contract.
- Jimmy Butler had a highly efficient outing against Utah. He was a plus-19 in 28 minutes, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and seven assists, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Meanwhile, Lauri Markkanen — one of the players the Warriors coveted prior to last season before trading for Butler last winter — scored just 17 points on 31.6% shooting with smaller players guarding him. The game provided a reminder of why the Warriors have no regrets about taking their big trade-market swing on Butler, Johnson writes.
- In case you missed it, the Warriors now have enough room below their hard cap to sign a 15th man. However, every day they put off doing so creates a little more flexibility below that threshold.
Injury Notes: Warriors, Davis, Barrett, Sixers, Collins, Pacers
The Warriors will be without three important frontcourt players on Monday against Utah. In addition to center Al Horford, who will miss at least a week due to right sciatic nerve irritation, and forward Jonathan Kuminga, who has been unavailable since November 12 due to bilateral knee tendonitis, Draymond Green has been ruled out for Monday’s game due to a right foot sprain, per Anthony Slater of ESPN.
Green was listed as questionable before being downgraded to out, which may be a sign that his injury isn’t considered significant. Of course, Kuminga’s knee soreness also wasn’t intially viewed as a cause for much concern, but he’ll miss a sixth straight contest on Monday and his return isn’t necessarily imminent.
The Warriors had hoped he’d be able to practice on Sunday, but that didn’t happen, according to Slater, who adds that imaging on Kuminga’s knees came back clean, showing no structural damage.
“He said he’s not moving that well, so I can’t tell you what the outlook is,” head coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday. “He needs to feel better and be able to move better before we can put him out there.”
We have several more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Mavericks big man Anthony Davis will miss a 14th consecutive game due to a left calf strain on Monday, but head coach Jason Kidd said the plan is for Davis to take part in practice on Wednesday, writes Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. Assuming Davis practices without a setback, his return shouldn’t be far off, Afseth notes.
- The imaging results on RJ Barrett‘s sprained right knee “look promising,” according to Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). Barrett is out for Monday’s game vs. Cleveland but seems to have avoided a serious injury and is being considered day-to-day.
- Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness) will miss a second consecutive game on Tuesday vs. Orlando, but center Joel Embiid (right knee injury management) has been upgraded to questionable, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
- The Bulls are hopeful that Zach Collins (left wrist surgery) will be able to practice with contact this week, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says Collins has a chance to return during the team’s post-Thanksgiving road trip that begins on Friday and runs through next Monday.
- Pacers guards Johnny Furphy (left ankle sprain) and Quenton Jackson (right hamstring strain) could be back in action within the next couple weeks, head coach Rick Carlisle said today (Twitter links via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). Carlisle added that rookie Kam Jones has recovered from his back injury, but is still in the ramp-up process and could play for the Noblesville Boom in the G League before making his NBA debut.
Al Horford Out At Least A Week With Sciatic Injury
Al Horford will miss at least a week for the Warriors with sciatica, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter).
The injury is being classified as right sciatic nerve irritation, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link), who notes that Horford will be out for at least three games: Monday vs. Utah, Wednesday vs. Houston, and Saturday vs. New Orleans.
Horford is currently averaging the fewest minutes, points, rebounds, and assists per game of his career, as well as his lowest three-point percentage in 11 seasons, as he adjusts to coming off the bench for Golden State.
Sciatica is the same type of medical issue that kept LeBron James sidelined for the Lakers’ first 14 games, though the wording on Horford seems to suggest that his ailment is less severe than James’ was.
The Warriors have cooled off since their 4-1 start to the season and are now 9-9 after losing their last three games. Horford’s injury will provide yet another test for Golden State’s frontcourt depth, as Jonathan Kuminga remains out with knee tendonitis and Draymond Green is listed as questionable for Monday’s game with a foot sprain.
Warriors Notes: Frontcourt, Horford, Kuminga, DeMarco
After opening the regular season with 12 of 17 games on the road, the Warriors returned to San Francisco for the start of a five-game home stand on Friday. Ahead of last night’s matchup with Portland, Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area suggested that these five games could be an early-season tipping point for a team looking to climb up the standings, adding that a home loss to the Trail Blazers, Jazz, or Pelicans during the home stand would represent a “troubling setback” for Golden State.
Sure enough, the Warriors dropped Friday’s game to the slumping and banged-up Blazers to open their home stand. They were outrebounded 52-32 by Portland and allowed the Blazers to rack up 127 points, led by 26 from two-way player Caleb Love. Head coach Steve Kerr suggested after the game that he needs to try something new to address his club’s rebounding problems, per Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
“We may have to play two bigs more often,” Kerr said. “Al (Horford), QP (Quinten Post) or Trayce (Jackson-Davis) with Draymond (Green). We’ll have to look at that.”
Star wing Jimmy Butler, meanwhile, was critical of the Warriors’ defensive effort, telling Slater and other reporters (Twitter video link) that the team has to do “way better” on that end of the court.
“We’re just not guarding nobody, that’s all,” Butler said. “From what I can tell, I haven’t been here long, but that’s never been the formula here.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- After playing 18 minutes in the first three quarter of Friday’s loss, Horford wasn’t on the court at all in the fourth. The Warriors announced after the game that the veteran big man was dealing with right hamstring tightness and will be considered day-to-day going forward (Twitter link via Slater).
- Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has now missed Golden State’s past five games due to bilateral knee tendonitis. According to Slater (Twitter link), Kerr said ahead of Friday’s game that the team hopes Kuminga can practice and scrimmage on Sunday, which would go a long way toward determining whether he can make his return on Monday vs. Utah.
- Longtime Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco, who has agreed to become the head coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, will remain on Golden State’s bench for now, according to Slater (Twitter link), who says DeMarco will leave for his new job at some point before the end of the NBA season.
Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Lakers, Gillespie, Clippers
With the Warriors off to an up-and-down start and sitting over .500 by a single game, there’s a growing expectation “in various corners of the league” that forward Jonathan Kuminga will be on the move prior to the February 5 trade deadline, Marc Stein writes for his Substack (subscription required).
While a veteran executive who spoke to Stein referred to Kuminga’s two-year, $46.8MM contract (which includes a second-year team option) as “one of the best trade chips in the league,” sources who talked to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps about Kuminga aren’t convinced that Golden State will be able to find a trade partner that covets the 23-year-old and is willing to send the Warriors the sort of value they’ll be seeking for the former No. 7 overall pick.
“Who is going to take him?” one Eastern Conference scout said. “And are they going to move him for stuff they don’t want, or just wait? It’s very hard to find a trade that makes sense for everyone.”
That same scout suggested that Kuminga, who is currently sidelined due to knee soreness, hasn’t done a whole lot so far this season to boost his trade value.
“He is who he is, even though he’s on the younger side,” the scout said. “He has looked better, and has been trying to fit in, but he still falls back into his old habits.”
We have more from around the Pacific Division:
- A pair of Los Angeles Dodgers executives – Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman – are serving as advisors with the Lakers during the transition from the Buss family to new owner Mark Walter, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. As Shelburne explains, Zaidi and Friedman are functioning as senior executives with TWG Sports, the entity Walter created to oversee his sports holdings. Zaidi has been Walter’s representative during the transition process, according to Shelburne, while Friedman has consulted with general manager Rob Pelinka.
- Back with the Suns after signing a one-year, minimum-salary contract over the summer, point guard Collin Gillespie is enjoying his expanded role in Phoenix. Gillespie, one of the team’s top reserves, is averaging 10.5 points and 5.1 assists in 24.3 minutes per game off the bench as he makes a case to stick with the Suns beyond this season. “I would like to be here long-term,” he said (Twitter video link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “It’s 15 games into the season. There’s a ton of time. I’m not even worried about that or focused on that right now. Just play the year out. Hopefully have a really good year. Win a lot of games and then focus on it after the season, but I would like to be here long-term.”
- Law Murray of The Athletic takes a look at some of the issues plaguing the 4-11 Clippers, including an inability to keep up with faster-paced offenses, poor point-of-attack defense, losing the rebounding and possession battles, and – in the words of head coach Tyronn Lue – a lack of “point-of-attack offensive guys that can create their own shots.”
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 forward 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 their “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 as well as people close to Kuminga 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 sees 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–t, 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.
Pacific Notes: LeBron, Curry, Warriors, Sabonis, Livers
Lakers forward LeBron James only took seven shots from the floor in his season debut on Tuesday vs. Utah, but he racked up 12 assists in a 140-126 victory and extended his NBA-record streak of double-digit scoring performances to 1,293 consecutive games, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Most importantly, James played 30 minutes after missing the first month of the season due to sciatica and didn’t experience any setbacks.
“The pace tested me, but I was happy with the way I was able to go with the guys,” James said. “As the game went on, my wind got a lot better. Caught my second wind, caught my third wind. Rhythm is still coming back, obviously. First game in almost seven months, so everything that happened tonight was to be expected.”
For a separate ESPN story, McMenamin spoke to 10 sources inside and outside of the Lakers’ organization to get a sense of what they’re monitoring with James back on the floor, including how the return of the four-time MVP will impact the team’s role players and whether the high-scoring duo of Luka Doncic (34.6 PPG) and Austin Reaves (28.1 PPG) will keep rolling. Not all of those sources were in agreement on certain topics, including Deandre Ayton‘s fit alongside James, McMenamin notes.
“Ayton should benefit the most out of LeBron back,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “LeBron makes people look good. [He’ll feed Ayton] lobs and dump-offs at the rim.”
“I imagine Deandre’s going to be a problem. He’s just not smart enough of a player,” a Western Conference exec countered. “And the inconsistent effort, LeBron usually has issues with, to say the least.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- Stephen Curry (right ankle soreness) will sit out the Warriors‘ game vs. Miami on Wednesday after tweaking his ankle a couple times during the team’s recent road trip, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN. Golden State could end up very shorthanded on the second night of a back-to-back — Al Horford (left toe injury management) and Jonathan Kuminga (bilateral patellar tendonitis) are both out, while Jimmy Butler (right low back strain), Draymond Green (illness), and Buddy Hield (illness) are all considered questionable to play.
- The Kings will be without center Domantas Sabonis on Wednesday vs. Oklahoma City due to left knee soreness, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. It will be the fourth missed game of the season for Sabonis, who has also dealt with hamstring and rib injuries.
- Back in the NBA this fall after a lengthy absence due to hip problems, forward Isaiah Livers is grateful to be playing a role for the Suns and isn’t concerned about keeping track of his active games, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. A player on a two-way contract can be on his team’s active roster for a maximum of 50 games — Livers is at 11 so far. “I’m not counting,” Livers said. “I’m taking it one day at a time. We all know my story. I’m just blessed and grateful to put a uniform back on and help an organization win games. We’ll worry about the rest later.”