“I have to read what we need. I have to read who’s playing well together, and to be very frank, the Jimmy (Butler), JK (Kuminga) combination has not been great and that’s the tricky part here” said Steve Kerr during an episode of ‘95.7 The Game’ back in April 2025. These remarks only added to the belief that Jonathan Kuminga has become a player of the past for the Golden State Warriors now.

After all, since his return from a 31-game absence (due to an ankle injury), Kuminga saw a reduction in his minutes, was scarcely used in Golden State’s closing lineups, and was even made to play in only 3 of the 7 games against the Houston Rockets in the recent playoffs series.

In light of this, and given how Kuminga is being used in the rotation during the ongoing Warriors-Timberwolves playoff series, a former NBA champion is now speaking out. Kendrick Perkins is never one to hold back, especially when it comes to controversial takes — and this time, he’s aimed straight at the Warriors’ bench.

As Golden State stares down a potential 3-1 deficit against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the ESPN analyst took to X with a scathing critique of Steve Kerr’s handling of Jonathan Kuminga. Perkins wrote:

“I hope Kuminga get the hell away from Steve Kerr. He’s not the Coach for this young talented and Athletic young Star. He really need an opportunity to spread his wings. Kerr really had this man outta of the rotation.”

It’s not the first time Perk has questioned Kerr’s rotations, but the timing of this post, with the Warriors floundering and Kuminga’s role fluctuating, hits especially hard. Whether it’s a valid critique or just another hot take, it’s bound to fuel the growing conversation around Golden State’s future and Kuminga’s place in it.

Perkins’ remarks come amidst the fact that Jonathan Kuminga came out as a major contributor in Game 4. Sure, the Warriors lost the matchup, and are now at a bigger risk of getting eliminated. However, Kuminga had scored 23 by the time the game was over. He had made 21 of them in 25 minutes off the bench. On top of that, Kuminga had also come off a 30-point game, having set the score in Game 3.

The power forward was only the 2nd highest scorer for the Warriors in Game 3, after Jimmy Butler (33 points), but led the scoring effort in the recent matchup since Butler had only scored 14 points. Meanwhile, Draymond Green had only added 14 points, while Buddy Hield had scored only 13 points. Therefore, the fact that Steve Kerr had benched this very same Jonathan Kuminga earlier in the playoffs would have made more people than Kendrick Perkins mad.

The head coach had attempted to sympathize with Kuminga. He had once said, “Mostly, I feel for JK, because I like him. He’s been here for four years, he’s a talented guy. Sometimes things go in a different direction. I think what happened here is pretty obvious; I’ve talked about it. Jimmy Butler came in”.

Jonathan Kuminga might have been prioritized recently because Steve Kerr needs to make up for Stephen Curry’s absence. The 3-point leader sustained the first Grade 1 hamstring injury of his NBA career and has been ruled out since. The Warriors are targeting Game 6 for Curry’s earliest window to return. However, from the way things are going, the Bay Area franchise might not make it till there. Nevertheless, people cannot say it didn’t happen because Jonathan Kuminga didn’t give his best. With Steve Kerr using Jimmy Butler as a reason for why Kuminga does not belong, and the player dropping efficient performances, these reasons are only worsening the coach’s reputation amidst the losing streak.

It makes sense that Kendrick Perkins was the one to come to the power forward’s defense. After all, if recent history is an indication, the former NBA player turned analyst has kept asking for the power forward to be pushed up.

Kendrick Perkins previously asked Steve Kerr TWICE to give Jonathan Kuminga a chance: “That young man is too damn athletic”

Kendrick Perkins has continued to prove, from time to time, that he is the ultimate hype man for Jonathan Kuminga. Back in April, he was among the few to speak after Kuminga didn’t get any minutes against the LA Clippers. Steve Kerr had admitted that Kuminga’s absence was nothing more than a lineup decision. Despite this, Perkins urged for a change. He stated, “I’m praying that Steve Kerr puts his pride aside and goes to the young fella Jonathan Kuminga, because I believe the Warriors are going to need his athleticism in this series against the Houston Rockets. This series is going six or seven games”.

True to his prediction, the series did go up till 7 games. However, as mentioned earlier, Kerr got to play in only 3 of them. Nevertheless, Perkins continued holding his opinions until Game 3 of the Warriors-Timberwolves series. After all, despite a 33-point effort from Jimmy Butler, the Warriors suffered a heartbreaking 102-97 defeat. Meanwhile, Kuminga not only scored 30 points but also shot 61.1% from the field. Keeping that in mind, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins urged coach Kerr by taking to X and writing “Like I said Kuminga should have never been outta the rotation. That young man is too damn athletic and killed not be on the floor”.

Either Steve Kerr does not listen to what Kendrick Perkins says or right, or he is purposely ignoring the analyst. After all, having coached the team for a decade, he would know best what the team needs. Unfortunately, that ‘best’ is not materializing right now. Therefore, the day that the Warriors get eliminated will allow Kendrick Perkins to drop his biggest ‘I told you so’ moment.