Kerr Gets Candid on Warriors Forward’s Frustration
Jonathan Kuminga’s frustration with his role in the Golden State Warriors’ offense is no secret. The 23-year-old forward, once touted as the franchise’s bridge to the future, has grown weary of being an afterthought behind the team’s established stars.
Coach Steve Kerr doesn’t deny Kuminga’s feelings — in fact, he embraces them.
“It’s been an interesting fit,” Kerr told Andscape. “He’s made it pretty clear that he wants the ball and an opportunity that a lot of his cohorts get and people who were drafted near him. And we weren’t able to offer that. We were a championship team. We won the title in his rookie year and have been in the mix the last few years. So, it’s been tough.”
Kerr said he understands Kuminga’s position but hopes the young forward recognizes the value of contributing within the team’s framework.
“I respect the fact that he is competing and fighting in a set of circumstances that maybe isn’t ideal for him,” Kerr said. “But the thing I keep telling him is he can play a role for us — absolutely — with his size, speed and athleticism. He can play an important role on a very good team. He just turned 23. He has plenty of basketball ahead. One day, hopefully, he’ll look back on this as a valuable time in his career. But I know he’s frustrated. He’s made it very clear publicly. I don’t mind that, but I want him to embrace the idea that he can be a part of something special.”
A Delicate Balance Between Ambition and Role
Kuminga’s struggle for consistent opportunity has been a long-running subplot in Golden State. It even spilled into the offseason, when tense contract negotiations led to a two-year, $48.5 million deal that included a team option — a structure that allows the Warriors to keep flexibility while giving Kuminga a shorter runway to prove himself.
Through the first two preseason games, Kuminga has come off the bench — a situation unlikely to change as long as Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler anchor the offense.
The forward has stopped pressing Kerr for clarity, admitting that he already knows what answer he’ll get.
“I don’t ask [Kerr] about roles because I know what he is going to tell me,” Kuminga told Andscape. “I don’t waste my energy. I choose not to ask because nobody is going to tell me. It’s whatever.”
His remarks reflect the tension between confidence and circumstance — a gifted athlete caught between development and expectation in a system designed around veterans.
Searching for Consistency
Kuminga’s preseason numbers mirror that inner tug-of-war. In two appearances, he’s averaged 4.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 blocks in 17.5 minutes per game.
He was steady in the opener against the Los Angeles Lakers — scoring five points on 2-of-3 shooting with a plus-7 rating — but followed that with a minus-17 outing against Portland, missing four of five shots.
“You just have to find ways to do things when you get out there,” Kuminga said. “Make plays, defend. I don’t have a consistent role. I just play a role where I make sure I play defense and run the floor.”
Kerr has long preached that Kuminga’s physical tools could make him the Warriors’ “X-factor.” Kuminga agrees — but admits his ambitions stretch further.
“Being that guy on both ends when it comes to defense, when it comes to the old offense,” he said. “I just have to find a way to help so we can win a championship.”
Kuminga’s Warriors Future Still Unwritten
During his contract standoff, Kuminga made it clear that he doesn’t just want to blend in — he wants to lead. He wants to be the player who went toe-to-toe with Anthony Edwards in last year’s playoffs and led the Warriors in scoring during that series.
“I have too much confidence,” Kuminga said. “And my confidence doesn’t just come from inside because I work towards it. The sky is the limit. I can’t predict it, but I believe in God, I trust my work, and I know I have a long way to go.”
For now, he remains in limbo — balancing deference to the team’s hierarchy with his own hunger for more. That dynamic will define his future when his trade restriction lifts in January.
If the balance works, the Warriors could finally view him as a long-term cornerstone. If not, his team-friendly contract makes him one of their most valuable trade chips.
“I don’t think about things like that,” Kuminga said. “I let the day just tell us what’s going to happen. You never know with this life. It’s the NBA. One day you’re going to be here, one day you’re going to be somewhere else.”
Seahawks icon Richard Sherman says quiet part out loud about Micah Parsons trade
The Dallas Cowboys might have shocked the sports world when they traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, but did they? Unlike the Seattle Seahawks, who normally do things in a pre-planned manner, Dallas owner Jerry Jones is a bit of a wild card.
Does that help his team? Not really. The Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in three decades, even though they still claim to be America's Team. The Seahawks, for instance, have been to three Super Bowls since Dallas was in one. The Cowboys being America's Team is a lie, and the blame can go to Jones.
Still, the owner, who often forgot Parsons' first name was Micah and not Michael, bungled the whole situation. He traded Parsons for two first-round picks and Kenny Clark, but the likelihood that either of the first-round choices is as good as Parsons is slim. Jones seems unaware of that.
Seattle Seahawks legend Richard Sherman drops the truth about the Micah Parsons trade
One Seahawks icon who is, though, is Richard Sherman. The cornerback-turned-podcast host has never been afraid to espouse his opinions, and while he isn't always correct, he is at least loud. He is also a smart person, and that certainly cannot be undervalued.
The legend said on his eponymous podcast, "Jerry Jones has done it again. He's shocked the world...with insanity...There's so much I don't understand about this. But the biggest is you paid Dak Prescott over the market and you paid CeeDee Lamb, and you paid Trevon Diggs, but when it comes to Micah you say 'Ah, we don't to pay that much'."
Among the things that Jones did in the silly situation was try to talk to Parsons directly instead of the edge rusher's agent (which goes against Collective Bargaining Agreement rules), made his team worse, told every free agent ever that Dallas would rather trade you than pay you if you are outspoken, and proved he shouldn't be the general manager of his own team.
Jerry Jones loves to believe he knows football well. He doesn't, at least not as well as true football people who have worked in a front office or coached before owning a team. He should also find that his team has fewer fans because of him.
As for the Seattle Seahawks, the team could have paid for Micah Parsons, even the four-year, $188 million extension he signed with the Packers after the trade, but giving up two first-round choices is a bit rich. Parsons likely will be great for Green Bay, but he has to be. The team gutted the early parts of its next two drafts.
The Seahawks are trying to stay young and get ever younger. Micah Parsons would have made the team better, but if the team didn't win a championship, the cost might have been too high.
