After appearing to have earned regular minutes in the Warriors' rotation, Jonathan Kuminga has seen his playing time ebb and flow depending on the matchup.
On Wednesday, Kuminga played just five minutes in the Warriors' 107-103 loss to the Phoenix Suns at Chase Center. That comes two games after he logged just 13 minutes and was a DNP in the second half against the Washington Wizards.
Head coach Steve Kerr told 95.7 The Game's "Damon and Ratto" that he has spoken with Kuminga about his playing time, and the rookie just has to be ready to make the most of his minutes when his time comes.
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"Those discussions have happened, you know, throughout the season with every player," Kerr said. "And, you know, it's one of the things that I pride myself on. I was a player for 15 years. I wasn't always sure if I was going to be in the rotation or not. Many of those years, I was not, and I always appreciated when a coach was just, you know, very honest, and open about what to expect, and so I'm honest and open with all of our bench players and always try to give our players opportunities throughout the year to contribute and to develop. And you know, for rookies, everything is brand new, and everything's difficult.
"But JK has handled things really well. He's developed dramatically this year. He's so much better now than he was just a few months ago, and he’s got a great future. So it's exciting, but you know, we are where we are as a team, you know, kind of big picture and small and so his his his opportunities, when they're there, he's got to make the most of them and when they're not there, he's got to just understand the circumstances."
On the season, Kuminga is averaging 9.1 points per game while logging 16.8 minutes per contest.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft went from draft project to consistent contributor after Draymond Green went down with a lower back injury in January.
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From Jan. 9 to March 14, Kuminga averaged 13.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while playing 22.6 minutes per game. That included 21 games in which Kuminga scored in double figures.
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Despite Kuminga's uneven playing time, it is logical to expect the rookie to play an important role in the Warriors' upcoming playoff run. His elite athleticism and high energy will be an asset for Kerr in the postseason.
As impressive as the 19-year-old has been, the Warriors know he's still a rookie and that he will have wild swings in his effectiveness from game to game.
“You have games where, like a lot of rookies, he looks like he’s found it and he’s figured it out, then the next game he looks like a rookie. That’s what rookies look like, though, so in a playoff game, it might be that one game he wins you a game,” president of basketball operations Bob Myers said Wednesday on "Warriors Pregame Live." “And then Steve [Kerr] finds out in 10 minutes of another game, this doesn’t work. And it may be series dependent.”
Kuminga very well could be a "break glass in case of emergency" player in the postseason. But there's no doubt he has the tools to help the Warriors on the biggest stage, Kerr just has to find the right matchup and press the right buttons.