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網址：https://sfstandard.com/2025/04/17/warriors-jonathan-kuminga-future-steve-k
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縮網址：https://reurl.cc/NYQrnQ

原標題：Kawakami: The Butler trade made Jonathan Kuminga an inessential luxury f
or Warriors

By Tim Kawakami
Published Apr. 17, 2025 ‧ 7:56am

The very best thing that happened to the Warriors this season was also the very
worst thing that could’ve happened to Jonathan Kuminga’s Warriors career at th
is quite significant moment for everybody involved.

這個賽季對勇士隊來說最好的事情，同時也可能是對 Jonathan Kuminga 的勇士生涯來說，
在這個對所有人都至關重要的時刻，最糟糕的發展。

Jimmy Butler arrived in February while Kuminga was out with a sprained ankle and
 the Warriors changed in a way that essentially left Kuminga behind, even when h
e returned in mid-March. And in a way that, team sources acknowledge, confirmed
some things Steve Kerr had been weighing for a while.



That’s the simplest, broadest answer to two glaring questions as the Warriors h
ead into the first round of the playoffs: Why did Kerr completely bench Kuminga
in the last two enormous games? And does this mean that Kuminga’s time with the
 Warriors is all but over?



In the short term, Kerr hasn’t ruled out playing Kuminga in the playoffs, espec
ially in this series against the extremely athletic Rockets. But Kerr has made i
t clear that Kuminga is behind Butler, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield,
 and even Gui Santos in the wing depth chart. And with Butler averaging 44 minut
es in the last two games, there just aren’t many wing minutes left to divvy up,
 anyway.

短期內，Kerr 並沒有排除在季後賽中讓 Kuminga 上場的可能性，尤其是在對上運動能力極
強的火箭隊這個系列賽中。但他也已經明確表示，Kuminga 在側翼輪替中的順位落後於 But
ler、Moses Moody、Gary Payton II、Buddy Hield，甚至是 Gui Santos。而且考慮到 But
ler 在過去兩場比賽中平均上場時間高達 44 分鐘，側翼可分配的上場時間本來就所剩無幾
。

In the long term, Kerr has made his call: He isn’t waiting anymore for Kuminga
to figure out how to play with Curry and Butler and he doesn’t think it’s wort
h giving Kuminga guaranteed minutes just to keep him mentally engaged. If that’
s true now, of course it’ll probably be true this summer, when Kuminga will hit
 restricted free agency. It’ll be true for as long as Curry, Butler, and Draymo
nd Green are the Warriors’ cornerstones — and all three of them are signed for
 several more years and enormous dollars.



This is a triple-down on veteran IQ and veteran willpower. This is accepting the
 Warriors’ 24-8 finish (including Tuesday’s play-in victory over Memphis) as p
roof of Kerr’s concept. This is a full commitment to the players who fit with B
utler, Curry, and the rhythm the Warriors have established — and zero time and
patience to keep going with any player who doesn’t.



No blowup, just a breaking point.

不是突然爆發，而是到了臨界點。

Multiple team sources said there was no big blowup between Kerr and Kuminga that
 precipitated this. I’d even say that a loud argument might’ve helped the rela
tionship — or at least cleared the air. Why couldn’t Kerr just reduce Kuminga’
s minutes instead of giving him DNPs? Why did he go out of his way to flag this
situation? It seems drastic. It feels like a snap reaction.



But really, this was a long, uncomfortable situation between two pretty stubborn
 guys overdue to hit a breaking point. And things just broke.

但說到底，這其實是一個長久且不舒服的局面，兩個頗為倔強的人早該達到臨界點，而最終
事情終於崩裂了。

Over the years, Kuminga has tried to play the way Kerr wants, with some very cle
ar high points when he was ready to pass, cut, screen, rebound, and run the floo
r with force. Right before the ankle injury — and before Butler arrived — was
probably Kuminga’s best sustained run as a Warrior, when he averaged 31.1 minut
es, 21 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.2 free throws a game in December. But that wa
s also a losing run for the Warriors.

這些年來，Kuminga 試圖按照 Kerr 的要求打球，並且在某些時刻展現出他準備好傳球、切
入、掩護、爭搶籃板並且積極跑動的高光表現。就在腳踝受傷之前——也就是在 Butler 加
入之前——那可能是 Kuminga 作為勇士隊的一段最佳持續表現，他在 12 月的比賽中場均
31.1 分鐘、21 分、6.3 籃板和 7.2 次罰球。但那段時間對勇士來說也是一段失敗的時期。


And Kerr has tried to accommodate Kuminga’s 1-on-1 skills and look past his mis
takes. Before the Butler trade, the Warriors needed as many talented players on
the floor as possible. But accepting messy play is never going to be Kerr’s sty
le — he won’t hide his preference for simpler plays and savvier players.



Once the Warriors started winning with Butler, once Curry showed what he could s
till do with a complementary superstar next to him, once Brandin Podziemski, Moo
dy, Quentin Post, and Santos raised their games to meet this moment, Kuminga see
med more and more like a luxury item that the Warriors could not afford to keep
putting out there.



Kuminga takes quick shots when Kerr wants everybody except Curry or Butler to ma
ke sure they’re thoughtful about moving the ball around and exploring every pos
sibility for Curry and Butler. And Kuminga can get lost on defense in this switc
hing scheme that puts a premium on making the right reads at the right time.



Has Kuminga been the worst Warriors rotation player during the last month? No. E
ven when he’s struggling to fit in, he still can soar for breathtaking dunks or
 barrel through the lane with soft left-handed finishes. But he’s the Warrior w
ith the worst net rating over this period and the player who sometimes just seem
s to get in Curry and Butler’s way.



A few Warriors sources pointed to the Warriors’ huge victory in Memphis on Apri
l 1 as a turning point. That’s when Curry scored 52 points and the Warriors put
 up 134 in maybe their most electric, connected game of the season. And it was a
 game Kuminga missed with a pelvic bruise.



Two games later, in another huge Warriors victory — over Denver at home on the
back end of a brutal back-to-back — Curry himself told Kerr that Santos should
close the game. Which he did, successfully. And who was the player Santos replac
ed? It was Kuminga, of course.



Then, going into the regular-season finale, Kerr and the coaching staff knew tha
t the Clippers defense was designed to swallow up ball-dominant players like Kum
inga. So they drew up a playing chart that didn’t include him. And even though
they lost a thrilling game in overtime, the Warriors felt like that was also one
 of their best and most scintillating performances of the season.



A role in the Houston series?

在火箭系列賽中會有角色嗎？

When Kerr was asked before Tuesday’s game whether he’d spoken to Kuminga about
 the demotion or his acceptance of it, Kerr just quietly and slowly shook his he
ad.

當 Kerr 在週二的比賽前被問到是否和 Kuminga 談過降低順位或他對此的接受度時，Kerr
只是安靜且緩慢地搖了搖頭。

Later, Kerr gave this answer when asked if he’s worried about hurting a young p
layer’s confidence with this kind of stark decision: “I don’t factor that in.
 … That’s regular-season stuff. When you go through the 82-game season, you fa
ctor in everything, you try to help everybody along. … When you get to the play
offs, everything goes out the window. You just try to win each game.”



Not surprisingly, Kuminga’s presence also has diminished in the locker room, wh
ich he’s exited swiftly without speaking to reporters for the last week, and th
e seats on bench, which he’s rarely used lately, preferring to spend his time a
mong other players in the tunnel to the locker room during games. Other than his
 postgame shooting session on the Chase Center court long after Sunday’s game,
Kuminga’s basically been a ghost around the team — there, but barely seen, not
 listened to, and definitely not counted on.



Multiple Warriors people noted, however, that Kuminga has had several good games
 against the Rockets and could play a role in this first-round series, which sta
rts Sunday in Houston, because he’s the one Warrior who can match and even atta
ck Houston’s length and athleticism.



“He’s getting his work in,” Draymond said of Kuminga on Tuesday night. “That
’s all you can do in that situation is get your work in. And he’ll be meaningf
ul for us in that series. I have zero doubt about that. I think the challenge fo
r him is to stay mentally engaged, as it is for anyone in that situation. But I
have zero doubt in my mind that he’s going to help us in this series. He will,
1,000%.”



So things could change again. A couple of great moments in this series could rem
ind Kerr and everybody else that Kuminga is only 22 and still could project as t
he Warriors’ lead star in a post-Curry era. He’s one of Joe Lacob’s favorite
players for a reason.



If Kuminga departs this summer, the Warriors would be banking everything on thre
e mid-30s players and a supporting cast specifically designed around them. It’s
 good for now, but it’s fragile. How great will this look without Kuminga in tw
o or three years?



But I can’t see Kuminga and Kerr finding a lot of common ground from here. I ca
n’t see the Warriors wanting to pay Kuminga anything close to market value — p
robably about $28 million a year or higher — if the coach doesn’t believe in h
im and the stars aren’t sure they want to be on the floor with him. I can’t se
e Kuminga wanting to stay here a second longer than it takes to figure out his n
ext team.



The Warriors hate letting valuable assets go for nothing, and Kuminga is absolut
ely still an asset. Restricted free agency is complicated, so Mike Dunleavy woul
d have to work through a lot of things to get something worthwhile in return for
 Kuminga. But the Warriors have had a lot of warning about this pending breakup.
 So has Kuminga. These last few games have merely been the public notice.



-

看起來季中受傷的不是時候，導致沒有時間磨合試錯了，苦命真的好苦QQ

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※ 作者: ccccccccccc 2025-04-18 09:49:43
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