The Golden State Warriors finally traded Jonathan Kuminga. Thus ending a five-year-old relationship that had turned bitter lately. Of course, the fallout didn’t happen overnight. It was a long process of equal back and forth, disinterest, and a clear lack of trust. But the real drama began on December 10, as Anthony Slater reported.

Kuminga understood that team leaders planned to fine him for skipping a mandatory gathering. Meanwhile, tension between Kuminga and Steve Kerr grew and felt trivial during year five of a partnership many expected to finish earlier. The head coach apparently tried letters and lengthy messages, yet Kuminga answered rarely and without warmth overall.

Later that day, emotions spilled inside Kerr’s office as the talk shifted toward larger concerns. Coach Kerr questioned Jonathan Kuminga’s commitment and drive toward collective ambitions, while Kuminga expressed pain over feeling undervalued for years. As tensions peaked, Kerr struck his board in anger. However, the 23-year-old forward responded strongly afterward, producing two remarkably intense training sessions, sprinting in transition, charging the lane, and guarding with fierce energy.

Then, the team benched JK for the game against the Chicago Bulls on the Friday following the December 10 incident. After the game, he asked the ESPN reporters if they asked Kerr about him. And yes, they did. Kuminga wanted to see the clip where Steve Kerr talked about JK’s DNP. “Happens to everyone in the league,” Kerr said. “Other than the stars.” This infuriated the young forward.

“See,” Kuminga said. “That’s the s— I’m talking about. Why’s he gotta say that?”

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Now, Kuminga opened year five by starting the first 12 games and powered both ends during a 4-1 launch, which led Steve Kerr to label him a permanent first-unit piece. However, insiders cautioned that past patterns could repeat. Soon, lineup spacing concerns surfaced as Golden State slipped to 6-6, reinforcing Kerr’s earlier worries about balance and offensive flow.

Since Kerr refused to move Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler, he shifted Kuminga to the bench. Meanwhile, knee discomfort emerged in Oklahoma City, limiting Kuminga to 12 first-half minutes. Across the next two months, JK logged only 117 total minutes with the Warriors, including 16 straight DNPs.

Team staff reportedly called him to check in four separate times. However, Kuminga turned down three late-game appearances and later removed himself from a January 2 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder despite expected minutes. Therefore, several coaches and executives interpreted Thunder’s absence as Kuminga stepping away from the group.

Precisely speaking, Jonathan Kuminga believed the Warriors had already sidelined him long before. He felt shifting him from extended bench stretches to a national broadcast game without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green risked public embarrassment.

Now, coming back to the present, Draymond Green, who always been supportive of Kuminga, spoke about the trade. According to the 14-season-old veteran, deals often end the human element of things, and people tend to forget that stars pack their bags and move to a different environment with new people around.

Draymond Green extended his support to Jonathan Kuminga

Green simply wanted people to understand the effects of a trade. “I find it very interesting when I see people like, “Oh man, send this guy there. It doesn’t matter… And it’s like, ‘Yo, you don’t realize the impact that it has on people’s lives,’” Draymond said on his podcast.

“Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, like they got to uproot their family from the Bay Area, move their family to Atlanta or a different location because you don’t know the certainty of that. You don’t want to keep up and moving them. That’s a real thing,” he added. Green also commended Kuminga for handling the situation well.

“I appreciate the way he handled it. The maturity he showed and his handling of the situation the entire time…And so I applaud him, and I wish him well on the journey to Atlanta.”

So, the Warriors-Kuminga split was written on the walls. It was meant to happen sooner or later. Many believed that the breakup should’ve happened long ago. However, both sides held each other captive, probably hoping for a change in the situation. But now, the deal is done, and Jonathan Kuminga has a new home with the Atlanta Hawks.