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Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — The slumping Golden State Warriors made a lineup change by starting Jonathan Kuminga and bringing Draymond Green off the bench against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Coach Steve Kerr said he wants to give this starting lineup change “a look” and see how it goes. In the first game with this change, the Warriors were routed 107-90 by the Timberwolves at the Chase Center.
Green said he is willing to come off the bench for however long it lasts to help the Warriors win and Kuminga grow.
“Of course, I’m OK with it,” Green said Friday night. “I have been one of JK’s biggest fans since he’s been here. And so if he has an opportunity to start, you can’t be hypocritical, and [if] they’re like we want him to start, but it’ll be [up to] you, you can’t be like, ah, it’s not for me, that don’t work. I want to see him do well.
“So if his opportunity goes through me, then it is what it is. He earned the opportunity. He played extremely well [Thursday]. You want to give that another look or two or three or four or however long. If it works, then you continue with it.”
After starting off 12-3, the Warriors have lost six of seven games. Kuminga scored 13 points in 29 minutes, but it was a dreadful offensive night for the Warriors, who were held to 39% shooting overall and 11-for-39 (28.2%) from 3 by Minnesota’s defense.
On Thursday, the Warriors snapped a five-game losing streak with a 99-93 win over the Houston Rockets. Kuminga flashed his potential, scoring a career-high 33 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter to lift the Warriors to victory despite Green and Stephen Curry sitting out with injuries.
“I don’t necessarily look at it as like this demotion,” said Green, a 13-year veteran. “I’m a starter in the NBA. I know that. But if it’s something to try to help this team win, I’m always going to be for it. I hate losing.
“I care about this organization, and I know a lot of people in this organization, including myself, think he’s next. And so if he’s next, at some point we got to see it.”
Starting Kuminga at power forward alongside Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney in the frontcourt allows Kerr to give Curry scoring help in Kuminga and Wiggins while not having to start Green at center and wearing out his best defender against the opposing big man from the start of the game. Green also can help organize the second unit and close halves at center.
Kerr said he will have to see how his rotations are impacted by injuries to Wiggins (ankle) and Moses Moody (left knee soreness). Both left the game due to injury and did not return. Their status is uncertain for Sunday’s rematch against the Timberwolves.
“The idea is we are trying to make the most of Jonathan’s ability to get downhill, get him more time,” Kerr said. “He and Wigs were fantastic [against Houston]. We are searching for ways to get those guys more involved and not wear down Draymond and Steph. That is kind of the trick and finding combinations within that.”
The franchise views Kuminga, the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft, as a crucial piece for its future. The Warriors had talks in the offseason about acquiring another star like Utah‘s Lauri Markkanen and Paul George before he signed with Philadelphia in free agency. Ultimately, the Warriors resisted trading Kuminga and other assets like Brandin Podziemski.
Now appears the time to see what Kuminga can do with a bigger opportunity.
“For us to be good, you saw [what Kuminga did] in the Houston game, you’ve seen flashes,” Curry said. “We need him to be the best version of himself. We have to be able to figure out whether it’s play calls, whether it’s certain rotation or lineup combinations, what can unlock his ability to get downhill, put pressure on the basket, demand attention from the defense. He’s a big weapon for us.
“… We’re a different team than we’ve been in the last three years, and the experimental phase of trying to unlock new looks, new go-to sets, put the ball in his hands, it is time for that for sure. We haven’t had results otherwise, so we got to lean into that and might not go well every night, but that’s what we’re trying to build.”
Kerr has been searching for the right rotation after playing 11- to 12-man rotations for much of this season.
For Green, he understands that this could be something that unlocks potential for the Warriors. When David Lee got injured, Green took off as the starter and the Warriors went on to win the championship in 2014-15.
“I am a product of my vet being willing to take a backseat for me,” Green said. “So you got to give back what came to you. That’s what this is about.”