After months of turmoil in the Golden State, Jonathan Kuminga had the first opportunity to show what they missed out on. But neither JK nor the Warriors left a memorable moment for the fans. But after the game, a quick interaction between Steve Kerr and his former player had everyone talking.

The Hawks rolled past the Warriors 126-110 at State Farm Arena, but the production from their newest asset was minimal. Kuminga’s final numbers for the night contained two points (on 1-for-9 shooting), four rebounds, and two assists in 22 minutes. In fact, he missed his first seven shots but finally scored at 9:39 of the fourth quarter. After the game, he and Steve Kerr hugged briefly, putting rumors to rest about the beef between the two.

In fact, before the game, the Warriors’ head coach was quite upbeat about meeting Jonathan Kuminga. “I like Jonathan. We always got along well,” said Kerr. “The basketball part was the hard part. We couldn’t quite offer him what he needed and vice versa.” He would state the same thing that he had explained before. Kerr couldn’t provide the freedom or role for JK to grow and learn.

Jonathan Kuminga deflected the question about his past role or about Kerr’s statement about his fit with the Warriors. “Whatever they say, you can take however you want it,” Kuminga said. “But I am not worried about the past, I’m here. I’m very happy where I’m at.” Instead, he chose to talk about his teammates.

JK noted that “it was fun” going against his old teammates, and he enjoyed catching up with the group. It was visible from the interaction he had once the final whistle was blown. Kuminga went up and down the Warriors’ roster, hugging a variety of personnel, including Draymond Green. He and Stephen Curry had an extended conversation near mid-court, after most players on both teams had disappeared into their respective locker rooms.

So, it’s clear that the Congolese forward only wants to focus on the positives and wants to preserve his friendship with his former teammates.

Jonathan Kuminga’s agent shut down a key Warriors front office member

Despite being traded away from the franchise, it seemed the franchise had a lot to say about their former star. One ESPN report indicated that there was an issue with JK because a member of his team had too much food from the Warriors’ family room. Another issue was when the franchise’s GM put a negative asset mark on Jonathan Kuminga.

Once JK made his trade demands clear, Mike Dunleavy Jr. said, “I think when you, you know, in terms of demand, there needs to be a demand on the market.” It was an indirect statement, but enough to suggest that the Congolese forward was not a wanted star. After the trade, there was another snarky comment. “On the other end of it, we’re sending out a player in a similar boat who struggled to stay on the floor.”

While praising Kristaps Porzingis’ arrival and to reduce doubts over his injury, Dunleavy suggested JK was another injury-prone player. Which was not the case. Kuminga played exactly once between December 10 and January 20, mainly because Steve Kerr decided not to use the 23-year-old forward.

So, JK’s agent made sure to set the record straight. “Nasty stuff, Mike D. The master of going low, without acting like you’re going low,” Turner wrote on X, punctuating the post with applause and laughing emojis. This could be another reason why Jonathan Kuminga ignored his former head coach’s assessment, and that’s why their hug was also very brief.