Perhaps, Steve Kerr’s biggest win over the last decade rested in his roster. Where a fleeting tenure is a common sight, the Warriors’ head coach has successfully dealt with players of big, bold personalities to become the franchise’s winningest coach. If asked to spell it out, Kerr would tell you his leadership is based on the principles of joy, compassion, and competitiveness. Today, criticisms may have swarmed the coach for the team’s state of late, but he carries the roster-building formula all the same.

From Shaquille O’Neal and Dennis Rodman to Draymond Green, Steve Kerr has either been on a roster with loud personalities or coached a few. What has he learnt along the way? “The ratio of difficult person and talent is always very important,” the coach explained at The Leadership Playbook event in London. “You have to weigh: is this player impactful enough to be worth putting in the work to deal with his difficulty?” Kerr replied when asked how to differentiate between a difficult player who needs love and one who needs to be cut loose. 

The Dubs’ HC believed Dennis Rodman was one of them. Rodman embodied chaos and order. The Bulls traded for him from San Antonio, where volatility wore out his welcome despite four rebounding titles and two Defensive Player of the Year awards. In Chicago, he averaged 5.2 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists over 199 games. He led the league in rebounds for three straight years and hit a career-high 3.1 assists in 1997. Kerr‘s next comment might be a hint of his present-day reality.

“And so the way I look at it is, are the intentions pure with this difficult player? If the intentions are pure and the player is powerful and impacts winning, then we’re going to make this work. If the intentions are not pure, and if the player is talented but isn’t really moving the needle, we gotta get rid of them. We gotta move on from them.” He’s looking at compassion and competitiveness enough to make an impact, and neither of them individually. 

In Chicago, Kerr saw Rodman up close, a volatile figure whose quirks were embraced because they translated directly to winning. Could we say the same about Jonathan Kuminga as we fast-forward Golden State?

The No. 7 pick in 2021 averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes across 47 games last season. Kuminga thrives on driving to the rim, finishing with power above the defense. During the playoffs, forced into bigger roles after Steph Curry’s hamstring injury, he averaged 15.3 points over eight games, and played 26-plus minutes in the Western Conference semifinals loss to Minnesota.

Kuminga is talented and confident. He believes he’s ready for a bigger role. But Kerr hasn’t been convinced he can deliver in a system designed around Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green. “Jonathan is obviously talented and eager to step into a larger role with more minutes,” Kerr said in May. “But my mandate is to win… with our lineup—Steph, Jimmy, Draymond—I’m not comfortable playing Jonathan 38 minutes and banking on a win,” he further elaborated.

Per 82 games data, the team’s net rating climbs by 2.7 points with him on the floor. He boosts transition scoring and rim protection with his length. Yet the Warriors surged without him post-trade deadline, winning 23 of 30 games after acquiring Jimmy Butler on Feb. 5—right as Kuminga missed 31 games with an ankle sprain.

Lineups anchored by Curry, Butler, and Draymond Green hummed at a 109.5 offensive rating off-court, exposing spacing issues when Kuminga joins. His 30.5 percent three-point shooting clogs the floor alongside Butler and Green’s jumpers.

Moreover, team sources say, Kerr had been no fan of Kuminga’s ways last season. After multiple instances of creating his own offense, ignoring Steph Curry, the young guard saw a row of DNPs. Today, the Warriors are at a stalemate in a contract decision involving the guard. Once seen as a cornerstone of the Warriors’ next chapter, the former No. 7 pick now sits at a crossroads, deep into restricted free agency with no long-term agreement, no sign-and-trade, and no clarity. 

The Warriors have placed two offers on the table: a $7.9 million, one-year qualifying offer and a team-friendly, two-year, $45 million. Either way, the speculations say, the Warriors are likely to trade away and cut ties mid-season. The Warriors‘ actions back it up.

Warriors’ plan for Kuminga echoes Kendrick Perkins’ warning

Since acquiring Jimmy Butler at the deadline, the organization has looked increasingly ready to move on from Kuminga. Following a strong four-game finish to the regular season, 24.3 points on average with shooting at  55%, Kuminga still saw his minutes slashed in the playoffs until Steph Curry went down with a hamstring injury. Even then, it felt forced. 

While Kerr tried to clarify that his relationship with Kuminga is “very good,” and that “this is just basketball,” the undercurrent is impossible to ignore. Kendrick Perkins didn’t ignore it. “I don’t know if Jonathan Kuminga is watching NBA Today, but they don’t want you, dog,” Perkins said. “They don’t value you, because if they did, you wouldn’t be going through this.”

Perkins didn’t stop there. “It started last season. Steve Kerr showed you how he felt about you when you were out of the rotation during the Play-In Tournament… I understand Mike Dunleavy is now running things in the front office… but Jonathan Kuminga wasn’t a Mike Dunleavy pick; that was a Bob Myers pick.” Everything since has confirmed that assessment.

Kuminga’s reportedly leaning toward accepting the $7.9 million qualifying offer to secure unrestricted free agency in 2026, giving him trade veto power along the way.

Golden State wants control, but Kuminga wants freedom. Neither side is pretending anymore. The Warriors didn’t get the sign-and-trade offers they wanted. They pulled their long-term offer. The locker room wants clarity. And with just weeks left before training camp, Golden State seems to be hoping Kuminga signs so they can trade him midseason. “The only question is, is he going to be on the team as a filler… or is he going to be a genuine member of the team?” said ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

That question still hangs unanswered. But Kerr’s comment in London left no room for interpretation. Jonathan Kuminga may still technically be a Warrior. But spiritually? He’s already gone. Steve Kerr finally pulled back the curtain, not with drama or headlines, but with a quiet certainty that cuts sharper than any quote can. He explained in the clearest way yet why Golden State no longer sees him as part of their puzzle.