Jonathan Kuminga‘s role in the playoffs will be closely watched around the league as he heads into restricted free agency, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line report.
Kuminga never entered the game in Golden State’s play-in victory over Memphis. It’s expected that Kuminga will have at least a limited role in the first-round series against the Rockets as the Warriors try to combat Houston’s athleticism.
Coach Steve Kerr has stated publicly that the combination of Kuminga and Jimmy Butler at the forward spots hasn’t worked well due to spacing issues — both are subpar 3-point shooters. The coaching staff had hoped that Kuminga might be further along in developing his playmaking skills.
The front office and Kuminga couldn’t meet his asking price during rookie scale extension talks. He was seeking more than $30MM annually. The Nets are a potential suitor with enough cap space to give Kuminga a pricey contract but a sign-and-trade with another team could be a potential option this summer.
Here’s more from the latest Stein Line notes post:
- The Suns are unlikely to pursue another veteran coach after Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer lasted just one season apiece. However, Pelicans coach Willie Green is a potential candidate if new New Orleans president of basketball operations Joe Dumars doesn’t retain Green. Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant, Rockets assistant coach Royal Ivey and Mavericks assistants Jared Dudley and Sean Sweeney could also be in the mix.
- It’s not a certainty Suns top executive James Jones will hold onto his job. Owner Mat Ishbia could make a change in the front office before a new head coach is hired.
- Dumars will take his time before deciding whether he’ll look to shop oft-injured franchise player Zion Williamson. There’s some skepticism around the league that the Pelicans will continue to ride with Williamson as their cornerstone piece.
- There’s some grumbling around the league regarding the swiftness of the Pelicans decision to hire Dumars a day after David Griffin was let go and the Kings’ same-day hiring of Scott Perry to replace Monte McNair. Dumars was also high on Sacramento’s list.
- Dirk Nowitzki has an office at the Mavericks practice facility but he’s rarely there, which speaks to his distance from the Mavericks current ownership group and GM Nico Harrison. Nowitzki was named a special advisor to former majority owner Mark Cuban, who no longer has much say in personnel decisions, including the blockbuster Luka Doncic deal.