When your team’s already shorthanded, benching one of the healthier guys is a riddle even the Sphinx can’t solve. Coach Steve Kerr not only did that, but he also made it work. The Golden State Warriors have finally gotten a win or two after injuries had severely hurt them. Jonathan Kuminga watched from the sidelines as his team served the Chicago Bulls a blowout 91-123 loss. His DNP would become the dominant talking point in the post-game presser.

The fourth-highest-paid player on the Warriors continues to get demoted. When it happened around the same time last year, it created friction between Kuminga and Kerr. This time, however, the coach hopes his young player processes the demotion differently.

“Just got to keep going, just like everybody else who’s in this position,” Kerr said of the tactical shift. “It happens to everybody, pretty much other than the stars. Guys come in and out of the rotation depending on who’s available, how the team’s playing.”

It’d be safe to conclude that Kerr is simply saying that Kuminga is not that special. Why?

Because he wasn’t featured in an 11-man rotation! The fact here is bright as daylight.

Jonathan Kuminga has had a bit of a decline after a strong start to the season. When he hurt his knee, he had already been designated for a bench role. Insiders claimed the 23-year-old star felt ‘scapegoated’ by the long-time Warriors coach again at that moment. But the numbers were against him.

Before his injury (first nine games), Kuminga averaged 17.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and shot 41.4% from deep.

Over the last few weeks, it suddenly dipped to 9.6 points with his turnovers increasing to 2.7 across five games.

Kerr decided that the $48.5 million star will no longer start and will come off the bench upon his return. However, things have changed further, and the young player is now pushed to the end of the rotation.

Kerr tries logical route after reporters insist on a Jonathan Kuminga verdict, what’s the player’s stance?

Since Jonathan Kuminga returned, his field-goal accuracy has dropped to a measly 30%. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford, and Jimmy Butler have been through injuries and back. De’Anthony Melton has come back from ACL surgery. Moses Moody and Buddy Hield have had inconsistent highs. Will Richard has been developing and filling in the voids left by injuries, and Quinten Post has been a consistent performer both as a starter and in the B-team.

Even Gui Santos has had more minutes to show his improvement. Tonight, he had only six points, but that’s more than what Kuminga got at all.

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Kerr basically hyped Santos, Melton (13 points), and Pat Spencer (12 points). He made some tough decisions about the rotation. And Kuminga was the casualty (or scapegoat, if you will) of it.

It begged the question of why Kerr picked a night when Curry, the other Curry, Green, and Horford were on the injury list to bench another player.

“Just because of the way our team looks,” the coach explained.

Scratching your head yet?

“Jimmy came back tonight,” Kerr continued. “JK started last night. They play the same position. I like the group. Last couple of nights, the bench group – Gui, Pat, Melt, and Philly, we got a lot of bodies. And so with Jimmy coming back tonight, it made sense to play the other guys because they complement him really well.”

He was again asked how Kuminga is handling the demotion. But Kerr said that the conversation was private.

The 23-year-old also gave a rare, direct soundbite about his situation tonight, not an anonymous source talking about how he felt.

“I’m not really sure,” Jonathan Kuminga said of the rotation, with some diplomacy to follow. “But as long as things are working out there and we’re winning, I don’t see a point of switching, changing. So, whenever my number gets called, I’ll be ready.”

Last year, Kuminga was ready to leave. This time, he claims there’s no pressure to be put on the game. We’ll see how long this dynamic persists when Curry is cleared to return.