Dub Hub: Steve Kerr believes Jonathan Kuminga is ‘turning a corner’ after win vs. Suns

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Monday, December 30th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Steve Kerr thinks Jonathan Kuminga is “turning a corner” after they beat the Suns on Saturday, 109-105.
• Draymond Green shares his thoughts on playing more center this season.
• Lakers trade D’Angelo Russell and multiple second round picks for Nets’ players Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton, according to ESPN.

Jonathan Kuminga played a huge role in the Golden State Warriors’ 109-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. He followed up his career-high 34-point performance in the previous game with another 34-point scoring night that had head coach Steve Kerr thinking the fourth year player has finally “turned a corner.”

Kuminga played 34 minutes off the bench on Saturday night. He was excellent on both sides of the floor and will need to continue to play like this on a more consistent basis if the Warriors are going to turn their season around.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Monday, December 30th:

Warriors News:

Is Jonathan Kuminga’s latest Warriors surge for real? ‘He’s turning a corner’ | The Athletic

After the game, Kerr sounded as if he was finally settling on a somewhat solidified rotation. He said he plans to keep starting Curry, Dennis Schröder, Wiggins, Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis, while bringing Kuminga off the bench but giving him “starter’s minutes.” In the past two nights, Kuminga played 34 and 37 minutes as a reserve.

This, once again, feels like a breakthrough moment for Kuminga, who is elevating into a more featured role in his fourth season. But anyone who has tracked the Warriors even semi-loosely the last few seasons can remember a handful of other times it has felt like Kuminga’s time has arrived only for him to be minimized again. Is this instance different?

Lakers-Warriors Christmas thriller draws most viewers for NBA regular-season game in 5 years | The Athletic

Wednesday night’s 115-113 thriller between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors drew a massive 7,763,000 viewers in primetime on ABC, according to Nielsen. It was the most-watched NBA regular season game in five years and up 499 percent from the comparable game last year (Philadelphia versus Miami).

The 2024 Lakers-Warriors game peaked with 8.324 million viewers at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Draymond Green on playing center: “We gotta do what we gotta do to win games”

Draymond bluntly explains NSFW hot-mic confrontation with Hield | NBC Sports Bay Area

“Steph [Curry], sometimes I go to him, sometimes I yell at him. He reacts to both. As a leader, one thing I learned from [Michigan State coach Tom Izzo] about leadership, you have to lead guys that make up a team. But leading someone doesn’t look the same as leading the next guy. And you got to figure out what makes guys tick. What gets that guy going. So, I’m still figuring that out. To go at Buddy the way I did, we needed that in that moment. We were flat, just turned the ball over. Lock in. That’s no shot at Buddy. Dennis [Schrӧder] was at me the other day. He’s been here for two weeks and he was at me the other day. Great, it is what it is.

“Mics catch everything today. I don’t care. I’ll say it right into the mic. I don’t give a damn.”

Alternate angle of Steph Curry’s first half behind-the-back buzzer beater vs. the Suns

NBA News:

Lakers trade D’Angelo Russell to Nets in 4-player deal | ESPN

Finney-Smith is the only player in the NBA this season to defend guards, forwards and centers each for at least 15 half-court matchups per game, according to Second Spectrum. He is on pace to average at least 10 points in a season for the second time in his career.

“With this trade, we are thrilled to add the physicality, toughness and elite shooting that Dorian Finney-Smith will bring to our core,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “We also greatly value the playmaking of Shake Milton. We are excited for our fans to get both of these players out on the court.”

Mike Brown’s final days with the Kings: Disastrous play, tension with a star and an awkward firing | The Athletic

Brown was firm in his criticism of Fox postgame. He’d been hammering the Kings about the defensive details for two years running — believing if this franchise really intended to make a leap into legitimacy, it needed to focus more, scout better, practice harder and certainly take defense a whole lot more seriously. Winning in the NBA requires an uncomfortable level of work and conversation and accountability. Brown has seen it on four championship teams in his nearly three decades in the NBA.

But the stern news conferences were beginning to wear on some players, team sources said, and were part of the decision to part ways with Brown. His last postgame news conference, directed squarely at the team’s star guard, was delivered in the same week Fox appeared to be increasingly thinking about a future elsewhere. Fox gave a dismissive news conference of his own after the gaffe, skirting the questions and speaking for less than two minutes in all. Reporters spotted Brown after Friday’s practice in an extended discussion with Fox. He was dismissed about 90 minutes later.

Scuffle in Heat vs. Rockets game leads to multiple ejections

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

On Jonathan Kuminga emphasizing ‘power’ as a power forward

There’s a viable course forward should the Warriors decide to commit to Kuminga as a win-now piece and as a building block for the future. Empowering him involves emphasizing the ‘power’ in his game as a power forward, a position Kerr has penciled him into.

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