Former Warriors blast Jonathan Kuminga over rift with Steve Kerr

Two former Golden State Warriors – Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes – have taken serious issue with Jonathan Kuminga over his reported discontent with head coach Steve Kerr.

Last Friday, Kuminga made headlines when a report from The Athletic suggested that the third-year forward "no longer believes Kerr will allow him to reach his full potential" after Kerr benched him for the final 18 minutes of the Warriors’ buzzer-beating loss to the Denver Nuggets. Kuminga’s benching was also widely criticized by fans on social media, considering that he shot 5-of-7 from the field on his way to 16 points -- only to not see the floor in the fourth quarter.

Jackson, who donned Warriors colors as part of the "We Believe" squad in 2007, addressed Kuminga’s discontent with coach Kerr on his All The Smoke podcast.

"Kuminga, I love you as a player, but you don't have the right to even speak on the Hall of Fame coach and player Steve Kerr," Jackson stressed. "Show him more respect. Go to him in private and let him know how you feel. In fact, I don't even think you're at that point yet. You should go to Draymond [Green] and tell him how you feel to try and correlate that to coach."

Barnes -- a member of the 2017-18 Warriors championship team -- echoed similar sentiments but expressed optimism in the 21-year-old Kuminga learning from his mistakes.

"I think this was a mistake on Kuminga's part," Barnes said. "Steve Kerr is one of the most open-door policy-type coaches, but to take it a step further, you talk to your OGs first -- see what they have to say. Although Kuminga has been playing well -- he's been waiting for his time and his time is now -- but, young fella, you don't do that in public. It's obviously frustration."

"He probably regrets it"

Barnes hailed Kuminga as "a tremendous talent" who "has it all" to be a star in the NBA, but equally urged the youngster against losing the faith of the locker room. "I think he probably regrets it. He's just got to keep moving forward," Barnes said of the Congolese player.

To Kerr's credit, Kuminga hasn't been sent to the proverbial doghouse for his alleged outburst, with the former No. 7 overall pick continuing to remain in Golden State's starting lineup. Kerr himself addressed The Athletic's report last week, telling the media that he and Kuminga had a one-on-one conversation to hash out their disagreements.

Kuminga, meanwhile, told the media that his issues with Kerr didn’t stem from his lack of playing time, but instead from their lack of communication over his fluctuating role with the team. 

With the NBA trade deadline fast approaching, the question beckons: will the Warriors trade their disgruntled young asset? According to Shams Charania, everybody but Steph Curry "is on the table." The Warriors are currently 17-20 and two games behind a play-in spot in the Western Conference.