Butler’s injury gives Kuminga a chance to be a factor for Warriors

Jonathan Kuminga wasn’t talking. But he had been playing. For the first time in 17 games.

This isn’t so much about necessity being the mother of invention but rather about being the stepsister of desperation. After all, you need five healthy, competent players for an NBA game. And the Golden State Warriors will play Thursday night in Dallas where almost certainly Kuminga, back in the good graces of head coach Steve Kerr, presumably will be on the floor.

What’s that you say about life? That you never know what will happen? What happened Monday night was that Jimmy Butler tore up his right knee in a game at Chase Center against Miami and will be out the rest of the season.

Ironic perhaps, as well as painful, figuratively and literally for Butler, who had been acquired a year ago from the Heat.

Only hours before, the question for the Warriors was what they would do with Kuminga, because according to rumors, he didn’t fit into a line-up of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Butler. Would Kuminga be traded? And if so, how quickly before the upcoming NBA trade deadline, February 5th? He’s not going anywhere the rest of this season. That’s for sure. 

Kuminga, a 6-foot-7 forward, the 7th overall pick in the 2021 draft, was impressive in his return, scoring 17 points in 20 minutes. As we were reminded by Warriors’ TV announcer, Bob Fitzgerald, more than once, Kuminga may not have been in the line-up, but he worked out aggressively, both staying in shape and staying ready for his opportunity.

Although Kuminga declined interviews, others from the Warriors organization, notably Steve Kerr, were very willing to talk about his contribution.

“He was great,” said Kerr of Kuminga. “Yeah, he came in and had great energy, attacked the rim, made some shots. I thought JK was really good. He’s going to factor in here again. Really pleased with the way he stayed ready, and stayed prepared, and got his opportunity, and played really well.”

That the Warriors lost the game to the Toronto Raptors 145-127 on Tuesday, perhaps shouldn’t have been surprising. They were still a bit shaken by Butler’s injury, which happened in the second half of Monday night’s game. That was also against Toronto in a rare back-to-back consecutive night series against the same opponent.

The loss ended a Warrior streak of 4 straight wins, all at home. Now we’ll find out how the Warriors will do on the road without Butler, who, along with Steph Curry, had been a major reason for the success.

Mike Dunleavy, the Warriors’ General Manager, had gone from trying to answer questions about Kuminga’s demands for a trade to how he thought the team would be able to remain a playoff contender.

“I felt our team was playing really well, heading in the right direction,” said Dunleavy. “Obviously, things have changed.”

Obviously. How much the change affects the Warriors is still to be determined.