I don’t think Jonathan Kuminga will be a superstar

“I don’t think Jonathan Kuminga will be a superstar”

I’m bummed to say what I’m about to say then don’t say it no I have to no but it’s it’s it’s not popular and I hope I’m wrong oh this is your unpopular take I really hope I’m wrong like I really really hope I’m wrong okay um I am just not that bullish on the future of Jonathan kaminga please explain I don’t think he’s going to be great I think he’s I think he’s going to be good I don’t think he’s going to be great I think anybody who thinks that that’s like this Untouchable future piece a one somebody who you can build around I don’t see it I don’t see it in today’s NBA there’s not a damn Wing out there not a one who’s a star who needs four seconds to line up his three-point shot that’s not and by the way I’m not trying to take a shot at the guy he is who he is he took a shot at him you’d need 4 seconds to take a shot at him I had to get that in there I’d miss if I took a shot at him no listen he I want to make this very clear he’s already really good he’s already really good this is more about that predictive projection that people have about oh don’t give him up because what if he turns into a and then you fill in that blank I don’t think he’s going to turn into a fill in that blank he’s not he’s I don’t think he’s a superstar I think he’s a really really good player I think his a athleticism is obviously off the charts um but if you look at Players like that who in their early 20s rely on athleticism overshot um it Fizzles because that athleticism is not going to go into your 30s that’s not where it’s going to go you know what I mean remember Lob City with the they’re filled with kingas and a bunch of them dares Darius miles and right and Blake Griffin to a degree oh for sure Blake Griffin he was explosive and he was a phenomenal player and Jonathan kaminga can be already is very very good but anybody who thinks he’s the centerpiece to an NBA roster like Steph’s going to retire and then we got kaminga yeah I’m out I’m out on that I’m big time out on that and God I hope I’m wrong yeah really want to be wrong well can he be a two on a team that goes to the Conference Finals like over the course of the next one to two years I don’t think so yeah he’s got to shoot the ball right shoot the ball sheim Finster Die Hard fans will get that one yes shoot the ball you have to be able to be consistent with an outside shot and and and your buildup your release like what made Stephen Clay so damn special they never stopped running and when they got the ball they could shoot it in a half a second and kaminga just doesn’t have that he’s 22 is he going to have time to develop something he could and then I will be wrong and that would be amazing I hope I’m wrong but yeah like I I was there covering Darius miles oh 20s something Young Buck who can fly and could with his chin yeah you’re going to have to develop something else yeah especially in this day and age like back then you could kind of get away with being a vertical spacer more than you can now but you’ve got to be able to step out and not only shoot the three but shoot the mid-range and be able to create your own shot that doesn’t involve you driving to the hoop and the thing that makes me a little bit cautious about you know latching myself to the kaminga bandwagon is the fact that his threo percentage went down this year pretty drama ially from 37 last year to 32 this year shooting basically the same number of three-point shots so he’s not trending in the right direction as a shooter and maybe he makes that leap this year and you know if he gets his big contract maybe it gives him a little bit more confidence and he can become more of a shooter but I don’t think that that’s necessarily A dangerously wrong take and I’m more of that mindset than I am of the mindset that hey in three to five years he’s going to be the one on this team and this team’s going to be a 42- win team with him as your best player well and again it’s not a dangerous take I don’t think I’m like you know my toes are not like out over the ledge on this take I realize that I just think it’s unpopular because we all want Jonathan to be great and he’s very very good I just don’t think he’s ever going to be what we would call a star yeah in in in the NBA and and and again I really really hope that I’m wrong but I I think that jump shot which did improve is still nowhere near good enough if you want to be a wing in today’s NBA I don’t think you can be all that effective of one if you don’t uh if you don’t shoot the ball out there like really effectively that’s got to be a big time weapon or at least a threat a threat it has to be a threat unless you can physically overwhelm people like I know that you know there might be people right now in fact we do have a text or 415 Giannis what about Giannis well Giannis is like physically overwhelming in a way that Jonathan is not he’s seven feet correct and and so much bulkier and and so many things that you know like his build is completely different than uh than what Jonathan Kingz is there’s things that he can do with his back to the basket that Jonathan can’t and and again he’s 22 I’m not saying that development cannot happen it already has like the the jump he took from last year this year was significant but what I’m getting to is the Warriors have such a f fantastically interesting off season I would not take Jonathan kaminga off the table right interesting you say that I would not do that at I’m not saying I want to trade him but I wouldn’t take him off the table right at all and I don’t think that the Warriors will take him off the table especially if it leads to Landing a big boy which is where my take comes in because I don’t think if the Warriors don’t add a big boy and by a big boy I mean a player who either has been an allar multiple times Kevin Durant or a guy who is an All-Star in the making Brandon Ingram or even somebody like lorri marinan if the Warriors don’t land a quote Big Boy they’re not going to win another playoff series they won’t win one this year they won’t win one next year if you just roll back Steph and Dre clay no clay doesn’t even matter for this conversation Wiggins kaminga Moody pods and tjd that collection that core is not good enough to win even one playoff series not a series I mean you’ll be for me if you bring this group back let’s say you sign clay at whatever number and you replace shich and you you bring in Lester kones and GE Santos and the rest of the young guys you’re probably an eight or a nine seed and you’re not good enough to win a series so you’re loving what Colin cardd said what he say he said this uh from uh from the herd just yesterday I think the Warriors are going to be a big player somewhere I think we’re concentrating on Philly and New York and I understand that it’s just a much easier Avenue to get to the Conference Finals in the finals like there’s no disputing that but I I think Golden State full of smart people Jason looks at OKC looks at Denver looks at Dallas it’s like come on we’re not even close so I I think teams like Golden State are like right now you know we’re all talking Klay Thompson Chris Paul what to do I think they’re going to take a huge swing that’s my get maybe it’s Carl Anthony Town yeah I liked what he was saying until the end and he’s not wrong it may be like let me tell you this right now yeah what’s happening in this series that we’re watching right now is absolutely putting Carl Anthony towns back on the potential offseason table for teams in the NBA um we had heard that he might be on it depend on how things went in the playoffs and when they beat Denver uh you know privately you and I were like well Carl Anthony Town’s not going anywhere Minnesota might win the championship but to then get run away from and maybe they’ll rally who knows but to get run away from by Dallas and have it look like that where Carl was both poor and settling for outside jumpers that he doesn’t seem to ever be hitting yeah that could absolutely put him back on the market cuz that’s a really expensive Ive roster and they’re going to have to try to figure out how to get better if they fall short 185 million on the books for next year for Minnesota which puts them just a little bit shy of that dreaded second apron you don’t want to be in and then the year after that they’re at 197 assuming that goar Ops in to his 46 million you figure he would the thing about Carl Anthony towns is he is still owed 102 159 plus a player opt at 61 million so you still owe him 220 million if he so desires so that takes you out of a lot of different things in the future it would be Steph and Draymond and Carl Anthony towns as your big three and uh I’m not thrilled by that I don’t I’m not sold on Carl Anthony towns I hear you um where my mind goes right now it’s less even about the specific names because there’s a bunch of different ways that they could put this Lego piece together but when you say like oh gosh are you going to make a ccial commitment like that here’s here’s what I truly believe I really believe the Warriors right now when they’re thinking about three or four years down the road they don’t care and and yes they do well to that point though would they rather have Carl Anthony towns for four years or Jonathan kaminga for four years um I think that they would answer that question by saying which one will do a better job over the next two years that’s the one we’ll take sure sure but even beyond that I think for years three and four it would be Carl Anthony towns who is 28 right now yeah yeah maybe maybe but I I honestly think they are willing to put like being embarrassingly bad on the table four years from now if it means maximizing the next two yeah I think they’re willing to make that trade they don’t want it to go that way I’m sure they don’t think it’ll go that way but they’re willing to take that chance is my guess based on not just what I know what we hear but you know what we see all all of it

Willard and Dibs discuss their most controversial, least popular Bay Area sports takes. Willard doesn’t believe that Jonathan Kuminga will be a superstar. Dibs believes that the Warriors won’t win another playoff series without a new star on the roster.

Download the Audacy app to never miss any of your favorite 957 The Game content:
https://go.audacy.com/y-listen-live-957thegame

Listen live: https://www.audacy.com/957thegame/listen
Visit our website: https://www.957thegame.com
Subscribe on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/957thegame
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/957thegame
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/957thegame
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/957thegame/
Join our Newsletter: https://www.audacy.com/957thegame/join-our-clubs/mvp-club