Kerr believes JK’s frustrations helped spark Warriors’ turnaround

Kerr believes JK’s frustrations helped spark Warriors’ turnaround originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Just one month ago, an increasingly frustrated Jonathan Kuminga reportedly “lost faith” in Steve Kerr and his role with the Warriors.

The two then talked things out in a private conversation and since then, Golden State has gone 13-8 in its last 21 games and risen from the bottom feeders of the Western Conference to an actual playoff contender.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, Kerr said he believes Kuminga’s frustrations actually might have helped spark the team’s recent turnover after winning 10 of its last 12 contests.

“I knew he was frustrated,” Kerr told Kawakami of Kuminga. “We had a great talk the next day. He came into my office. He’s a very respectful young guy. For the first two years, our conversations were very much one-sided. I couldn’t get him to respond. So I would tell him what we needed. And he didn’t say a whole lot.

“So I think it was actually a good thing for him to kind of express his frustration because it kind of forced him to really take ownership of it, and we had a good conversation. He let me know how he’s feeling, that he was frustrated, and we went through a list of things that I felt he needed to do, and it coincided with the time that Draymond (Green) was out (suspended for 11 games and then working his way back into game shape) … so he got more minutes based on playing better but also on the opportunity that came up.

“I’m never offended by guys being frustrated with a lack of playing time, because that’s natural. He’s always been a great young guy to coach and we’ve always had a good relationship. I think it grew this year because of a little conflict, and we needed that.”

It was first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Jan. 5 that Kuminga didn’t believe Kerr and his then-situation with the Warriors would allow him to reach his full potential.

This came after Kerr benched the young athletic forward for the entire fourth quarter of the Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets game despite scoring an impressive 16 points in 18…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kerr-believes-jks-frustrations-helped-000154367.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-02-26 00:01:54

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