The anticipated reunion between Jimmy Butler and his former team didn’t go as planned. For the Miami Heat, it might have felt like déjà vu from April 2024. While Jonathan Kuminga was not around again tonight, the Golden State Warriors felt the same fear of collapsing mid-season. And it’s now on head coach Steve Kerr to handle Dub Nation’s anxiety. Desperate times appear to have forced him to reconsider a move he has resisted for over a month.

Will Kuminga return to the rotation? Kerr told the reporters he’d “absolutely” consider putting the 23-year-old star into the lineup in Butler’s absence.

When asked about Kuminga’s fitness and readiness, the coach simply nodded, saying, “Yep, yep.”

Kuminga has been a DNP for the past 16 games, despite being healthy and available for most of them. The 23-year-old star immediately demanded a trade when he became eligible on January 15. There has also been speculation that Kuminga and the front office have an implicit agreement not play him until the February 5 trade deadline. Butler, who suffered a bad injury today, has vocally supported the youngster’s decision, irrespective of the outcome.

In the third quarter, Butler caught a short pass when his knee caved, and he landed wrong. He fell to the floor, clutching his right knee in pain. It was so brutal that the home crowd at Chase Center went quiet, and you could hear him yelling, “My knee,” in pain.

The crowd cheered in support as Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield carried him to the locker room. Butler was ruled out after 17 points and 21 minutes of action.

Before the MRIs confirmed the inevitable, Kerr did not mask any anxiety during his post-game remarks.

“He’s getting an MRI right now,” Kerr said. “He was gone by the time the game ended… I mean, we’re all really concerned, but we’ll know more after the MRI. We don’t know anything at this point.”

Kerr also said the locker room atmosphere is a bit “subdued” while they wait for news on Butler. But the reports after the MRI weren’t positive. It was confirmed that Butler had suffered a season-ending torn right ACL.

Kerr’s back to the drawing board, and he just might have to make the most reluctant adjustment because of Butler’s injury.

Do desperate times call for Steve Kerr to take a chance with Jonathan Kuminga?

In less than a month, it will be a year to the day since Butler was traded to the Warriors. He was shipped to the Bay Area after a contentious period in Miami, including an MCL sprain in his right leg that kept him out of the 2024 playoffs. He had also injured the same knee in 2018.

Butler has been the focal point of the Warriors’ late-game execution. The reason Kuminga, Butler, and Draymond Green never worked together was that they weren’t good shooters from beyond the arc. But with now Butler done for the season, this changes things.

It’s worth noting that Polymarket’s trade odds for Kuminga dropped from 93% to 65% after Butler’s injury.

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At 6’7″, the forward is their best option to withstand opposition pressure and replace Butler. And that could harden some Warriors veterans’ internal resolve to retain him.

But it’s also worth noting that Kerr hopes Green and Gui Santos will be cleared to play tomorrow. So, if Santos is healthy, we might not really see Kuminga return for the next game, at the very least.