The Golden State Warriors have made it no secret that they are open to trading away their younger players in order to acquire veteran experience if they demonstrate inconsistency. According to NBA writer Mark Medina, third-year forward, Jonathan Kuminga, has to show the Warriors whether he is ‘for real or not’, or risk suffering a similar fate to that of his former teammates.

Golden State Warriors news – Jonathan Kuminga

Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga has seen his name appear in multiple trade rumors throughout the 2023 off-season, with Sports Illustrated’s Joey Linn reporting that the five-time NBA champions had held ‘serious’ trade talks for the forward.

The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania reported that the 20-year-old had an ‘encouraging’ second season with the emergence of his defense and role as a slashing wing while stepping into the place of All-Star, Andrew Wiggins, who was out of the line-up for a couple of months.

However, they further went on to argue that the Dubs often found it ‘difficult’ to fit the Congolese forward into the rotation combinations with other big men Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.

This could perhaps be what sparked the Warriors to somewhat entertain trade talks for the former G-League Ignite player.

Mark Medina previously told GIVEMESPORT that he believes it is ‘make or break’ for the 6’7” forward next season, stating that if he is to remain a Warrior, then he needs to show the staff that he is the player they projected him to be when selecting him in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Should Kuminga not meet the expectations of the Warriors staff, then there is the possibility that this season may be his last in a Warriors uniform.

Is this the year for Jonathan Kuminga to step up?

Medina believes that now is the time for Jonathan Kuminga to show what he’s about, but also notes that the Warriors veterans should also be looking to help him by putting him in the right positions to succeed.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: “Jonathan Kuminga is a young player. He's playing on a veteran staff. But at some point in the NBA, you ultimately reach that crossroads at third, fourth year in the league that determines ‘are you for real or are you not?’ and I think that this year, will ultimately determine that.”

“The reality is, when you look at what the Warriors have done, they've gone further into their veterans when they used to try to rely on developing young players on the fly. But they decided to trade James Wiseman, they decided to trade Jordan Poole, and while there's certainly different things that went into that, such as salary cap concerns, etc, it also didn't help that those two players were also inconsistent.”

“And so with Jonathan Kuminga, there's going to be more playing time, but it's on him - as well as some of the Warriors veterans, including Draymond Green, that they put him in positions to succeed, they share their obvious experience, and they try to empower him to become a better player.”

What is next for the Golden State Warriors?

After a busy off-season for the Dubs, they will enter the 2023-24 regular season with a new-look roster, mainly due to the acquisition of Chris Paul, who for so long was one of their rival competitors.

With the addition of CP3 who, per ESPN, has averaged 17.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists, shooting 47.2% from the field and 36.9% from the three-point line over his 18-year career, there is hope that his play-making and court vision can help ‘unlock’ the potential of Jonathan Kuminga, who is expected to see an increase in minutes on-the-court.

Last season, the former No. 7 overall pick who was only two-years-old when the Point God entered the league, averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 20.8 minutes per game, per Statmuse.

The hope should be that with additional minutes there will be an increase in production for Jonathan Kuminga, and he should be looking toward his veteran All-Star teammates to aid him in his development in order to have the breakthrough season that many around the league expect.

Should he demonstrate any signs of inconsistency throughout the season, though, and he may find that his future resides elsewhere outside of San Francisco, California, especially if the Warriors are unable to go on the deep playoff run that is expected of them each year.

It’s now up to Jonathan Kuminga to take his future into his own hands in what is certainly a golden opportunity to prove himself to be worthy of being in the NBA.