Steve Kerr addresses possible Kuminga departure from Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO Warriors coach Steve Kerr has spent the past two months striking a diplomatic tone He has emphasized that he enjoys coaching Jonathan Kuminga the subject of a lengthy summertime contract negotiation that saw the fifth-year forward s agent publicly criticize Kerr s coaching methods before helping Kuminga sign a two-year million deal and sees him as an integral part of the squad As Kuminga s role and minutes have fluctuated both Kerr and Kuminga have tried to convince the world that both sides are all-in on making the uneasy partnership work But sitting in the interview room after Wednesday s practice Kerr for the first time this season acknowledged the possibility that Kuminga could be traded after Jan You d have to ask him you know for his feelings Kerr announced I can imagine it s not easy for him and we ve talked about the situation My desire for JK is for him to become the best performer he can possibly be regardless of where he ends up whether its here or elsewhere After not playing a single minute during Sunday s meeting in Chicago Kuminga reported reporters that he and Kerr had a good relationship and that he was just happy to see the association win Kerr echoed that sentiment and also took blame for how the situation one that appears hurtling inevitably toward a arrangement has unfolded It s the combinations the fit all that stuff has been going on for a scant years and I m not going to shy away from that I think it s pretty obvious Kerr revealed I do feel for him that he has been sort of at the whim of my decision-making based on you know what I want to see out there from our group After a stellar preseason one where Kuminga defended and passed with gusto and generally played the way Kerr needed the athletic wing to he was a fixture in the starting lineup But while being in the first five for the organization s initial dozen games Kuminga s level of play deteriorated He fell into old habits holding the ball and taking ill-advised shots But the Warriors also saw Steph Curry and Al Horford miss time during that stretch Golden State Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga right drives against Cleveland Cavaliers' Jaylon Tyson left during the first half of an NBA basketball battle in Cleveland Saturday Dec AP Photo Phil Long Kuminga was taken out of the starting lineup during the th battle in San Antonio and was felled with knee injury that sidelined him for seven games Since returning Kuminga has shot under from the field and was a healthy scratch for Chicago Now Kuminga s days with the association that drafted him No overall in appear to be numbered something Kerr emphasized was normal I tell my guys a lot there are so sparse players who end up playing for one crew their entire career Kerr commented It rarely happens I played for six different teams None of us know what s going to happen with JK or pretty much any of our guys Kerr commented it was a normal part of NBA life Its a really weird league and weird business to be in Kerr revealed You have to fully commit to the squad that you re playing for knowing full well that squad may transaction you or cut you That s a really hard thing to reconcile as a performer but the sooner guys can recognize it the better The guys who end up playing for a long time sort of figure that out and they understand that Whether or not Kuminga who is averaging points per championship is traded is not up to the coach though Kerr noted that he does have input on roster moves General manager Mike Dunleavy and I are totally aligned and he s great at his job and whatever decisions he makes he will include me in the discussions but it s not my job Kerr revealed It s his decision ultimately and we both respect that The Warriors s next championship is on Friday against Minnesota the association Kuminga torched in last year s playoffs Kerr did not rule out the possibility of Kuminga playing He had a great practice in the current era and we had a talk before practice and he did the things I solicited him to do and was I was thrilled about that Kerr explained I think there s a lot of young players not just JK lots of young players around the league who have to find themselves and figure out who they are as a athlete Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr keeps an eye on the competition against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Monday Dec Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group