Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy has dropped a brutal reality check for wantaway forward Jonathan Kuminga after reports he wants out of Golden State.
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Kuminga demanded a trade as soon as he became trade-eligible on January 16, having fallen out of favour in Golden State with NBA insider Shams Charania reporting his relationship with head coach Steve Kerr is “fractured beyond repair”.
It comes after Kuminga, who has been mentioned as a trade candidate since late last season when his playing time dried up, again fell out of Kerr’s rotation due to inconsistent play.
Kuminga could, however, be in line for more minutes with veteran forward Jimmy Butler out for the season after tearing his ACL.
The Warriors will need someone to replace their second-leading scorer and Kuminga has previously thrived in more ball-dominant roles, as was the case last post-season when Steph Curry went down.
Curry is still healthy now though and unless he can put his differences with the Warriors front office aside, Kuminga may not be able to give the team what it needs right now.
But as for his trade request, Golden State’s GM had a wake-up call for Kuminga when asked about it on Wednesday.
“As far as the [trade] demand, I’m aware of that. I think in terms of demand, when you make a demand, there needs to be demand on the market,” Dunleavy said.
“So we’ll see where that unfolds.
“Always with these guys, I tell them I’m willing to work with them and want to help people out, whether that’s JK or any player on our roster. We’re good with his wishes and trying to figure that out, but we have to do what’s best for the organization, and that’s what we’ll do.”
Dunleavy went on to add that he hopes Kuminga will recognise the opportunity he has with Butler now unavailable.
“I hope he’d play and be bought in,” the Warriors GM said.
“He’s available every night, and I think there’s a path and a way for him to help us win games. He knows what that is, and if he can do those things, there’s no doubt he can help us.”
The Warriors, still reeling from a season-ending knee injury sustained by Butler, were thumped 145-127 by the Toronto Raptors.
Immanuel Quickley led the Toronto scoring with 40 points in a wire-to-wire win, becoming the first player in NBA history to record 40-plus points and 10-plus assists and five-plus 3-pointers made while shooting 80 per cent or more from the field.
Earlier, Luka Doncic bagged a 38-point triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers staged a second-half rally to claim a 115-107 road victory over the Denver Nuggets in Colorado.
The Lakers looked to be in trouble after an explosive first half from Denver, who surged into a 71-57 lead at the break thanks to 26 points from Jamal Murray.
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But an improved Los Angeles defensive effort stymied Murray after half-time and Doncic and LeBron James kept the points flowing as the Lakers fought back to claim an impressive win.
Doncic finished with 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists while James added 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Lakers outscored Denver 58-36 in the second half.
“They were playing great basketball, Murray playing at an All-Star level … they have a lot of great players,” Doncic said.
“We just stayed together and fought this out.”
The Lakers improved to 26-16 with the victory while third placed Denver fell to 29-15.
In Houston, the Rockets snapped the San Antonio Spurs’ three-game winning streak, overturning a 16-point deficit to score a 111-106 win over their in-form Texas rivals.
Reed Sheppard led the scoring with a blistering 21-point cameo off the bench, pouring in 12 points in the fourth quarter to drag Houston over the line.
Turkish international Alperen Sengun added 20 points and Kevin Durant finished with 18 to give Houston the win.
The Rockets trailed by 16 points in the third quarter before a 13-0 run helped them erase San Antonio’s advantage.
“We had good energy the whole game,” Sheppard said.
“When we cut the lead a little bit there in the fourth quarter it was just ‘keep fighting, keep staying together, we’re close, keep putting the pieces together and go on a big run’.
“And that’s what we did. It was a great team effort.”
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San Antonio looked to be cruising after a fast start, outscoring Houston 39-28 in the first quarter before taking a 70-60 half-time lead.
But the Spurs’ shooting accuracy evaporated in the fourth quarter as they made only 7-of-28 from the field, and failed to make a single three-pointer from 13 attempts.
Julian Champagnie led San Antonio’s scoring with 27 points, while Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox added 14 points apiece.
In other games, the Chicago Bulls unleashed 25 three-pointers in a 138-110 home rout of the Los Angeles Clippers, Coby White leading the scorers with 27 points.
In Salt Lake City, Keyonte George scored 43 points to upstage a 38-point display from Anthony Edwards as the lowly Utah Jazz upset the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-122.
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