Warriors Role Player Grumbles About Benching For Lakers Series

Golden State's chemistry trending downhill?

It has become very clear that this current Golden State Warriors squad that the Lakers are facing the second round right now is not the same one we've seen in previous years.

They are still very dangerous, do not get me wrong, and very well could have secured a game one victory had some shots fallen but take a look back to last year if you most. The Dubs were able able to capture their fourth championship in seven years and what made their 2022 squad so scary was that they had their usual stars leading the way but now also possessed some young talent that was already contributing.

Jordan Poole emerged as one of the best sixth men in the league, Moses Moody showed flashes of being a rotational scorer, and Jonathan Kuminga made the most of his minutes on both ends of the floor.

jonathan kuminga highlights pic.twitter.com/reoZpUFR09

— ؘ (@stphklay) May 3, 2023

However, it looks like Steve Kerr is not quite ready to trust his young guys this year with the Warriors faced up against a red-hot Lakers squad. Particularly with Kuminga, he's seen action in just six games in the playoffs this year with an average of just six minutes in those games.

Considering that this is barely his second year in the league and he would have to battle with the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis at the forward positions, Kerr is really only using Kuminga to give Andrew Wiggins quick breaks.

And it's looking like the former G-League Ignite star is growing impatient with his current situation.

“It’s still tough to lock in every single time. It’s still tough to smile every single time,” Kuminga said. “But knowing where I’ve come from, seeing how many things that I’ve actually been through that a lot of people don’t know that got me to this point… I feel like throughout my career, throughout my life, I’ve never been given anything. I’ve seen so many people just get handed stuff. That’s never happened to me. It’s tough going through this season and being in (the game) most of the time and then things just flip out of nowhere without you knowing what’s going on."

(Via San Fransisco Chronicle)

Unfortunately, this is what comes with joining a contending team like the Warriors at such a young age. Other teams like the Rockets and the Pistons have the luxury of giving their young guys plenty of minutes to develop.

Golden State, on the other hand, is far past their development stage. This season has posed the most challenges to them with all of their stars present and they have bigger problems in the form of this LA squad versus Kuminga being unhappy with his role.

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