Austin Rivers sounds off on Warriors over Jonathan Kuminga saga

Contributor

When it comes to the Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga saga, former NBA player Austin Rivers is certainly siding with the player.

On Thursday, the Warriors officially reached the date they could actually strike a trade to part ways with Kuminga. As expected, a formal trade request was made by Kuminga. No, the situation is not settled.

Watching from a distance, Rivers is frustrated with the Warriors’ handling of Kuminga this season.

“This is a 20-point per game caliber player,” Rivers said this week.

“I know this because he’s done it. He is a freak talent and athlete. How the hell can this guy not get a minute on a sorry a** Warriors team? It drives me crazy. I watch this piss poor a** Warriors team play and I’m like how the f*** is this guy not getting off the bench”

Although Kuminga started for the Warriors at the beginning of the year, the Warriors quickly demoted him. It wasn’t a matter of Kuminga starting for 13 games, coming off the bench for a few more, and then falling out of the rotation. It was a hard stop. He landed a DNP on November 14 and didn’t see the court again until November 29.

Since the 29th of November, Kuminga has appeared in just four games. His last appearance was nearly one month ago, when he checked in for nine minutes against the Phoenix Suns.

This year, Kuminga was averaging 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 24.8 minutes of action. With little playing time, he couldn’t gain a rhythm in Steve Kerr’s system this season.

It’s clear there is no future for Kuminga with the Warriors. The assumption is that the young forward will get moved before the NBA puts a cap on all trades in February. It’s unclear where Kuminga could end up, but a frustrated Rivers is urging the Warriors to either give him minutes or an opportunity to take off somewhere else.

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