Warriors coach Steve Kerr addressed the elephant in the room, detailing how Jonathan Kuminga can receive an increased role moving forward after the 21-year-old wing offered a crucial spark off the bench in Golden State's 110-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night at Chase Center.
"I mean, he's a young player, so young players are generally up and down; we're looking for consistency," Kerr told reporters after Wednesday's win over Portland. "It's about decision-making. It's about recognizing when to shoot, when to move it.
"Certain games are going to favor him more, tonight definitely, with all the switching and the way he was able to get to the rim. Other games with different matchups don't favor him as much, and he's struggled in some of those matchups. This is not unusual for a young player to go through ups and downs. For us as a team, we just have to figure out what we need each night to win."
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Kuminga detailed his mindset after not playing in the first half of Wednesday's game, expressing his determination to be the best teammate possible before being called upon to check in.
"I was just chilling on the bench. I was just being a good teammate and bringing the energy up for my teammate's play and just encouraging them. I didn't really know that I wasn't going in," Kuminga explained. "But I didn't really know anything, so I wasn't really surprised."
The Warriors' young wing assessed his play this season while reiterating his intention to be the best teammate regardless of how many minutes he plays.
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"I feel like I've been playing good," Kuminga said. "I mean, like I said, it's a deep team … All that matters is just be happy for whoever [is] playing good out there. That's obviously what I was out there doing, was happy [with] the way everybody was playing. Moses [Moody], [Brandin Podziemski], and just the rest of the guys."
Kuminga recorded a game-high plus-minus of plus-13 in 17 minutes of action against Portland, providing a jolt to a sluggish Warriors team that included a jaw-dropping highlight reel slam dunk on an alley-oop from Draymond Green.
The 21-year-old was perfect from the field during Wednesday's win, shooting 6 of 6 while tallying 13 points and two steals in critical minutes down the stretch. It will be difficult for Kerr to keep the young wing out of the rotation if Kuminga continues to string together quality performances like this moving forward.