Jonathan Kuminga‘s night was cut short by injuries on Thursday and he’s not interested in playing with the Warriors much longer, according to an NBA insider.
Kumings twisted his left ankle and hyperextended his left knee during a second-quarter drive against the Mavericks, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports. He didn’t play the remainder of the contest but neither injury is believed to be serious, Slater added. He’ll undergo an MRI on Friday, Marc Stein of The Stein Line tweets.
Kuminga, who has demanded a trade, played 21 minutes on Tuesday in the aftermath of Jimmy Butler‘s season-ending knee injury. Kuminga had 20 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes against Toronto. He was off to a strong start in Thursday’s contest, supplying 10 points, two assists and two steals in nine minutes prior to his departure.
Coach Steve Kerr said prior to the contest that Kuminga would remain in the rotation, according to Nick Friedell of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, Kuminga hasn’t softened on his trade demand, Chris Haynes reported during an NBA on Prime segment (video link).
“Kuminga has no desire to remain a member of the Golden State Warriors. He is very much hoping that he will be dealt by the deadline,” Hayes said, adding that “his relationship with head coach Steve Kerr is fractured beyond repair. He’s felt that he hasn’t had any organizational support throughout this process, so he’s felt devalued with the organization.”
Haynes also reported that the Warriors might just wait until the summer to trade the 23-year-old forward and that rival teams have told him the Warriors refuse to bring in extra salary going into next season in any Kuminga trade.
GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. stated this week that the market for Kuminga is cool. “In terms of demands, when there’s a demand, there needs to be a demand on the market. So we’ll see how that unfolds,” Dunleavy said.