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Kuminga's value to Warriors grows clearer in win over Pistons

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Kuminga's value to Warriors grows clearer in win over Pistons

There are receipts

Daniel Hardee
Jan 19, 2022
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Kuminga's value to Warriors grows clearer in win over Pistons

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The Golden State Warriors layed the smackdown on the Detroit Pistons 102-86 last night in Chase Center. There was plenty to be happy about for Dub Nation, including a quality night from rookie Jonathan Kuminga who started in place of the injured Draymond Green.

Twitter avatar for @MontePooleNBCS
Monte Poole @MontePooleNBCS
At 19 years, 104 days, Jonathan Kuminga’s double-double (12p, 10r) makes him the second-youngest Warrior to achieve the feat. Andris Biedrins did it two weeks before his 19th birthday.
5:49 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2022
536Likes41Retweets

In Green’s absence, we’re seeing Kuminga take advantage of the playing time, and in turn he’s becoming more and more valuable to the Dubs.

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.

- Albert Einstein

One of the fascinating parts about living on this planet is ascertaining value. How do we value our time, our relationships, and even ourselves? What’s valuable to one person may be irrelevant to you and vice versa.

That’s why sports debates can be so fun (and maddening): invested pundits with varying degrees of credibility boldly making claims about the perceived value that players/coaches/GM’s bring to franchises.

The James Wiseman/Lamelo Ball debate during the 2020 draft rang that bell. How valuable would each player’s skillset be with the specific style the Warriors play? And how soon on their development timeline could they become any semblance of the missing puzzle pieces the Dubs were searching for?

The jury is still out on Wiseman, injury bug be damned. But the conversation revealed a lot about what the front office valued (standing pat and developing their young guys) contrary to what outside observers felt (trade assets for a superstar).

Twitter avatar for @mrclarkinc
Jake Clark @mrclarkinc
If they keep Kuminga, i’m not even being dramatic here, I really hope they let the core go. I wanna see those guys finish their careers in contention. Watching them waste away w/ a bunch of project kids will be awful.
1:09 AM ∙ Jul 30, 2021
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Twitter avatar for @darwinchvz320
D.O.C @darwinchvz320
Warriors got an A- for drafting some kids, signing Otto’s fragile ass, signing Iggy’s old ass, and getting Bjecila and the Lakers got a C- for adding an All Star with role players to improve spacing?
Twitter avatar for @SInow
Sports Illustrated @SInow
Warriors: A- Clippers: A- Lakers: C- Blazers: D+ Full NBA offseason grades for the Western Conference ⬇️ https://t.co/Cui26M5f5M
4:04 PM ∙ Aug 24, 2021
358Likes30Retweets
Twitter avatar for @thecity2
Evan Zamir @thecity2
I feel like the Warriors have so many points of failure. Everything needs to go perfectly for them to compete for like a 4-6th seed basically.
6:38 PM ∙ Aug 3, 2021

The perfect fit

One way I look at value for GSW is how smoothly a player can help them consistently replicate what their system demands.

For example: constant movement of players and ball is what has made the Splash Bros damn near unguardable. Last night Klay Thompson led the team with a season high 21 points last night while Stephen Curry added 18 points and 6 assists.

Twitter avatar for @NBA
NBA @NBA
Leading the way in the @warriors win, Klay Thompson went off for 17 PTS in the first half on his way to a season-high 21 PTS! 💧
6:01 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2022
832Likes83Retweets

But those two guys alone aren’t enough. The Dubs need players around them to keep the machine humming whether they are on or off the floor. Swap Thompson out for Otto Porter Jr. and you get enough of a resemblance of floor spacing, passing, and wing size that in spot minutes OPJ can look like he’s about to go for 60 points on 11 dribbles.

Shooting and defending like that? Yeah, OPJ is valuable.

Which makes Andrew Wiggins HELLA valuable. He has the size and quickness to defend multiple positions, the finishing ability to put rim pressure on opponents, and the outside shooting touch to keep Golden State’s spacing at optimal levels. Right now he’s averaging 18.5 PPG on 48% shooting from the field, 42% shooting from beyond the arc.

For reference, there have been 21 times in NBA history that a player finished with these numbers or greater while hoisting at least 150 3PT attempts in a season. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Reggie Miller are on that list. Klay Thompson did it in the 2017-2018 season. Stephen Curry has done it three times: both MVP seasons and last year.

Wiggins is slotting right into that Splash Bros-level efficiency. He scored 19 points last night on 8-of-13 shooting (3-of-7 from beyond the arc) with 3 steals. He fits into the system gloriously and his value is being punctuated on a nightly basis as he heads toward an All-Star berth.

Twitter avatar for @CalFongNBA
Calvin Fong @CalFongNBA
Wiggins is feasting off the open space from Steph and Klay. 19 points on 61.5% shooting tonight #AndrewWiggins #NBAAllStar
6:24 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2022
15Likes11Retweets

Breaking the mold

But there’s another way I look at value for this team. That would be adding a dimension that they didn’t already have without sacrificing efficiency or defensive force. That’s the dream with Wiseman; an athletic giant who can play above the rim and do freakish things no one else on the roster can do. Here’s an example of that against the Pistons last season:

Ideally, the Warriors would develop or add a talent who could fulfill both archetypes: the optimal system fit who has the physical gifts to call his own number sometimes and do something jaw dropping.

Folks, I believe Jonathan Kuminga has a very good chance of being that guy.

Twitter avatar for @BontaHill
Bonta Hill @BontaHill
Kuminga does things you just can't teach.
2:41 AM ∙ Jan 15, 2022
876Likes38Retweets

He can shoot…

Twitter avatar for @NBCSWarriors
Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors
Kuminga with another three 💥
5:20 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2022
535Likes53Retweets
Twitter avatar for @GrantLiffmann
Grant Liffmann @GrantLiffmann
Kuminga 3pt shooting: First 18 games: 2-17 (11.8%) Last 13** games: 13-33 (39.3%)
Twitter avatar for @GrantLiffmann
Grant Liffmann @GrantLiffmann
Jonathan Kuminga over the last 11 games is shooting 39.3% from deep (13-33)
5:57 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2022
72Likes6Retweets

He can make passes in traffic…

Twitter avatar for @_itskellyo
Kelly O'Meara Morales @_itskellyo
Jonathan Kuminga does a quasi-fake of a DHO with Steph Curry, drives and euros past his defender, and hits a cutting Steph Curry who fakes and gets a baseline reverse layup
3:45 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2022
7Likes1Retweet
Twitter avatar for @timkawakami
Tim Kawakami @timkawakami
Kuminga taking advantage of the Curry/Klay gravity is intriguing.
4:25 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2022
123Likes3Retweets

He can also apparently be everywhere on the court at once, from defending a pick-and-roll at the three-point line to leaping back and snaring the rebound.

Twitter avatar for @NBCSWarriors
Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors
"One day down the line it'll be his team or he'll be a huge part of the team." Klay is excited for Jonathan Kuminga's future with the Warriors
6:42 AM ∙ Jan 19, 2022
165Likes23Retweets

If he continues to develop like this, the Warriors will look like geniuses…AGAIN.

Twitter avatar for @957thegame
95.7 The Game @957thegame
Wiggins on Kuminga: “He’s believing in himself and when he does that nobody can stop him. He’s God-gifted.”
6:55 PM ∙ Jan 18, 2022
1,438Likes72Retweets

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Kuminga's value to Warriors grows clearer in win over Pistons

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221 Comments
Hashemite Kingdom
Jan 20, 2022

Is there an easy way to search substack to find my old comments here about Kuminga?

IIRC I wanted Giddey, and when he was gone, I was not thrilled about the inevitability of a Kuminga choice. I was glad they didn't take Mitchell, but not all that excited about Kuminga, sort of a "we'll see" attitude. That changed with his first summer league performance, and I've been on board since then.

Also apropos nothing, I'm so glad substack stopped screwing around with adding white space. It was unreadable for a few days there.

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Sleepy Freud
Jan 20, 2022

The King … of statpadding:

https://mobile.twitter.com/BeansGoated/status/1484048026763030530

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