Jonathan Kuminga is set to miss his sixth-straight game for the Golden State Warriors when they face the Utah Jazz on Monday, Nov. 24. The explosive forward is reportedly dealing with bilateral knee tendonitis and is yet to be medically cleared to return to the court.
When speaking to the media on Sunday, Nov. 23, head coach Steve Kerr provided an update on Kuminga’s situation and when he could return to the rotation. Before his injury, Kuminga was a starter in 12 of the 13 games he played to begin the season.
“Honestly, I just talked to the training staff. They tell me it’s day to day,” Kerr said. “So, talking to JK, and he said he’s not moving that well, so I can’t tell you what the outlook is. JK can tell you that better than I could, so he needs to feel better and be able to move better before we can put him out there. Maybe we’ll get imaging done on the knee, but yeah, we got to figure it out.”
Kuminga could face an uphill battle to earn back his spot in the starting lineup. Kerr will likely continue to experiment with his best rotations, combinations and substitution patterns in the coming weeks and months. As such, Kuminga’s role will be subject to change, as it has been throughout his time with the franchise.
Of course, Kuminga would be best served by focusing on rehabbing from his current injury before aiming to re-establish himself as a starter in Kerr’s rotation. And, if a starting role doesn’t emerge, then perhaps the franchise will explore potential trade opportunities for him closer to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
For now, though, Kuminga’s absence continues to hurt the Warriors, as his athleticism and scoring profile is being missed.
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This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors’ Steve Kerr provides Jonathan Kuminga injury update
Reporting by Adam Taylor, Warriors Wire / Warriors Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
