Kerr shares early thoughts on how he expects to use Kuminga
Day two of training camp came and went.
Steve Kerr addressed the media after Warriors practice and among other things, touched on Jonathan Kuminga. More specifically, where he sees Kuminga positionally for the team.
We’ve seen some flashes of what the Congolese-born player can do during the Summer League where he put his athletic prowess on display, along with some ball-handling and defensive skills. His shooting, however, is still very raw. He finished play in Las Vegas shooting just 37.3 percent from the floor and a pretty bad 27.8 percent from deep. This is one of the areas of his game that the Warriors will help him develop. What better place to do that than with two of the greatest shooters to ever touch a basketball in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Kerr said that with the small sample size he’s had of actually being able to see the 6-foot-8 Kuminga play up close and in person, he immediately sees him being most effective at the power forward position. “Right away, immediately he looks like a four,” Kerr said. “Because of his power and strength in his body and ability to guard multiple positions, I think the easiest way for him to make an impact would be as a four, in terms of limiting what he has to do offensively with decision making, being a dive man, a roll man, a DHO guy, and then being great defensively.”
Given his early thoughts on Kuminga, it’s clear that Kerr does want him on the floor early on, likely for spot minutes only, and the best way to do that with a young, raw player is to put him in a position in which he is most likely to succeed. In this case, Kerr believes that position is at the power forward spot.
Kerr also mentioned that the development process for both Kuminga and Moses Moody will take plenty of time, relating the two lottery picks to emerging star, Jordan Poole. “You know Jordan Poole, it’s taken him two full years to get to where he is now, and with Jonathan and Moses, we’re at two days…this is gonna take a long time.”
Golden State was clearly playing the long game by picking up Kuminga with the number seven overall pick in the draft, banking on his potential. It seems like they intend to invest a lot into the former G-Leaguer in order for him to one day, along with James Wiseman, Jordan Poole, and Moses Moody, take the reigns from Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson for Golden State.
They’ll have some pretty big shoes to fill. That’s the understatement of the century.
(Photo credit: Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)