There’s an old saying in the NBA: “Don’t fall in love with potential; fall in love with production.” But what happens when a team gives up on a player too early, only to watch that same player become a playoff difference-maker somewhere else?
Ask the Golden State Warriors. They’re currently living that nightmare in real time.
Jonathan Kuminga — the athletic, explosive, 6’8″ forward who never quite fit Steve Kerr’s system in the Bay — is suddenly looking like the player the Warriors hoped he would be when they drafted him seventh overall in 2021. The only problem? He’s doing it in an Atlanta Hawks uniform.
Midseason trade. Change of scenery. A coach in Quin Snyder who actually trusts him. And now, through four games of a first-round playoff slugfest against the New York Knicks, Kuminga is averaging 14.5 points per game, playing lockdown defense on Karl-Anthony Towns, and looking every bit the lottery pick that Golden State gave up on.
And that has Kendrick Perkins absolutely furious.
“Somebody from Golden State needs to be fired,” Perkins thundered on the latest episode of Perk Unplugged.
Harsh? Maybe. But Perkins isn’t the only one asking difficult questions. How did the Warriors let this happen? Why did they choose Brandin Podziemski over Kuminga? And why is a player who helped them win a championship now shining for another team in the playoffs?
Let’s break down the Kuminga situation, the Warriors’ miscalculation, and why the Bay Area might be experiencing some very complicated feelings right now.
Part 1: The Breakup – How Golden State and Kuminga Reached a Point of No Return
Every relationship has an expiration date. For the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga, that date came sometime in the first half of the 2025-26 season.
The writing had been on the wall for months. Steve Kerr, the Warriors’ legendary head coach, was never quite able to integrate Kuminga into his motion offense. Kuminga is a downhill, attacking, chaos-creating forward who thrives in space and transition. Kerr’s system? It’s built on off-ball movement, split cuts, and split-second decision-making. The fit was always awkward, like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
Kerr publicly lamented Kuminga’s “iffy fit” on multiple occasions. And Kuminga, for his part, made it clear that he was itching for a breakout opportunity — preferably somewhere else.
The front office had a choice: adjust the system to fit Kuminga, or move on. They chose the latter.
At the 2026 trade deadline, Golden State shipped Kuminga to the Atlanta Hawks. The return? Respectable, but nothing that screamed “we just traded a former lottery pick.” The Warriors essentially admitted that they couldn’t unlock the potential they had drafted four years earlier.
And then, the nightmare began.
Part 2: The Revelation – Kuminga in Atlanta, Playoff Edition
Quin Snyder is not Steve Kerr. He’s not trying to fit Kuminga into a pre-existing mold. He’s building a role around Kuminga’s strengths.
The result? Through four playoff games against the New York Knicks, Kuminga has been a revelation.
Game 1-3 production: Consistent scoring, disrupt defense, and a physical presence that the Knicks simply don’t have an answer for.
Game 4: A rough outing — 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting in a blowout loss. It happens. Playoff basketball is a grind.
Series stat line: 14.5 points per game, solid defense, and the trust of his coach to guard Karl-Anthony Towns for extended stretches.
That last point is crucial. Quin Snyder trusts Kuminga to guard one of the most versatile offensive big men in the league. That’s not a small thing. That’s a coaching staff believing in a player’s talent and IQ.
The series is tied 2-2. It’s a slugfest. And Kuminga is right in the middle of it, playing meaningful minutes in meaningful games, looking like the two-way weapon everyone thought he could become.
Meanwhile, back in the Bay Area…
Part 3: Perkins’ Tirade – “He Didn’t Want to See It”
Kendrick Perkins is not known for subtlety. On the latest episode of Perk Unplugged, the outspoken ESPN pundit went scorched earth on the Warriors’ front office and coaching staff.
Here’s what he said in full:
“He didn’t want to see it. He was in denial, but Steph Curry saw it. Draymond Green saw it. Jimmy Butler saw it. But you didn’t see it? A guy that you drafted in the lottery, a guy that has shown you time and time again, every single year, his points per game went up, but you chose Brandin Podziemski over Jonathan Kuminga, a man that helped you in the NBA Finals at times when you won your fourth championship?”
Let’s unpack that.
“He didn’t want to see it” – Perkins is clearly referring to Steve Kerr or perhaps the front office. Someone in a position of power who refused to acknowledge Kuminga’s potential.
“Steph Curry saw it. Draymond Green saw it. Jimmy Butler saw it.” – This is fascinating. Perkins is suggesting that the Warriors’ own players recognized Kuminga’s talent. Curry, the greatest shooter ever. Draymond, the defensive brain of the dynasty. Jimmy Butler, who joined the Warriors and immediately understood what Kuminga could be. If the players saw it, why didn’t the coaches or front office?
“You chose Brandin Podziemski over Jonathan Kuminga.” – Ouch. Podziemski is a nice player. He’s young, he’s skilled, he’s a hustle guy. But he’s not the athletic specimen that Kuminga is. Perkins is arguing that Golden State made a conscious decision to prioritize Podziemski in their rotation — and that decision cost them Kuminga.
“A man that helped you in the NBA Finals at times when you won your fourth championship.” – This is the dagger. Kuminga wasn’t just a bench warmer. He contributed to a Warriors championship. He had moments in the Finals. He was part of the 2022 title run. And yet, the organization still couldn’t find a consistent role for him.
Perkins’ conclusion is blunt:
“That’s one of the most athletic, versatile players, and his ceiling is through the roof. Now all of a sudden he’s sitting and he’s shining on the biggest stage. Somebody from Golden State needs to be fired.”
Part 4: The Podziemski Question – A Fateful Choice
Let’s talk about Brandin Podziemski, because Perkins isn’t wrong to bring him up.
The Warriors drafted Podziemski in the first round of the 2023 draft. He’s a 6’5″ guard who plays with energy, rebounds well for his position, and makes smart plays. He’s a useful NBA player. He might even become a good starter one day.
But here’s the question that haunts Golden State: Was Podziemski worth losing Kuminga over?
The Warriors’ rotation was crowded. Kerr had to make choices. And at some point, the organization decided that Podziemski’s skill set fit their system better than Kuminga’s athleticism. They valued the shooter over the slasher. They valued the high-IQ role player over the raw, explosive forward.
That decision looks worse with every playoff game Kuminga plays in Atlanta. Not because Podziemski is bad — he’s not. But because Kuminga is showing flashes of stardom that the Warriors desperately need right now.
Imagine Kuminga on the current Warriors roster, guarding LeBron James or Kevin Durant in a playoff series, finishing lobs from Steph Curry, running the floor in transition. That was supposed to be Golden State’s future. Instead, it’s Atlanta’s present.
Part 5: The Warriors’ Blind Spot – What Steve Kerr Missed
Kerr is one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. Nine championships as a player and coach. A system that revolutionized basketball. There’s no arguing with his résumé.
But every great coach has blind spots. And Kuminga might have been Kerr’s.
Kerr’s offense requires players who can read and react, who can make quick decisions, who can thrive in chaos. Curry and Green make that system work because they’re two of the highest-IQ players ever. Not everyone can do it.
Kuminga is a different kind of player. He’s a freight train. He needs the ball in his hands, in space, with momentum. He’s not a stand-in-the-corner shooter. He’s not a read-and-react savant. He’s a force of nature.
Kerr never figured out how to use him. Instead of adjusting the system to fit Kuminga’s talents, Kerr tried to fit Kuminga into the system. And when it didn’t work, the blame fell on the player, not the coach.
Now, Quin Snyder is showing what Kuminga can look like when you build around his strengths. He’s not asking Kuminga to be something he’s not. He’s asking Kuminga to be himself. And in the playoffs, that version of Kuminga is thriving.
Part 6: The Bigger Question – Should Someone Actually Be Fired?
Perkins says someone from Golden State needs to be fired. Is he right? Or is he just being a hot-take artist?
Let’s be fair: The Warriors have won championships. Multiple championships. They have a track record of success that most franchises would kill for. Kerr’s job is not — and should not be — in jeopardy over one player.
But the front office? That’s a different conversation.
The Warriors drafted Kuminga with the seventh overall pick. That’s a premium asset. They spent four years developing him, only to trade him for a modest return. And then, almost immediately, he starts producing elsewhere.
That’s not just bad luck. That’s a failure of player development, roster construction, or both.
Someone in the front office should have asked the hard question: “If we can’t unlock Kuminga’s potential, is that a Kuminga problem or a system problem?” The answer, clearly, was the system. But instead of changing the system, they changed the player.
Now, the Hawks are reaping the benefits. And the Warriors are left wondering what might have been.
Does that warrant a firing? Probably not. But it should warrant some serious self-reflection. And if the Warriors make another roster mistake next season, the grace period for “but we won championships” will officially expire.
The Bay Area is experiencing some very complicated feelings right now. And for good reason.
Jonathan Kuminga is not a bust. He never was. He was a square peg in a round hole, a thoroughbred trying to run in a system designed for quarter horses. The Warriors couldn’t figure him out. Steve Kerr couldn’t find the right role. And so they let him go.
Now, in the pressure cooker of the NBA playoffs, Kuminga is showing the world what he can do. He’s guarding Karl-Anthony Towns. He’s scoring 14.5 points per game off the bench. He’s playing with confidence, with trust, with the kind of freedom he never had in Golden State.
Kendrick Perkins is angry. He’s loud. He’s provocative. But is he wrong?
The Warriors chose Brandin Podziemski over Jonathan Kuminga. They chose system over talent. They chose comfort over adaptation. And now they’re watching from home — or maybe on TV — as their former lottery pick shines on the biggest stage.
Somebody from Golden State needs to be fired? That might be too strong. But somebody from Golden State certainly needs to answer some very difficult questions.
As for Kuminga? He’s finally where he belongs. In a system that believes in him. On a team that trusts him. In the playoffs, doing what he was always capable of doing.
The Warriors didn’t want to see it. But everyone else does. And that’s the most complicated feeling of all.