The Golden State Warriors’ choice to hold out at the trade deadline was justified by their current five-game winning streak.
According to ESPN senior writer Ramona Shelburne on “NBA Today” on February 12, they missed out on a few opportunities that could have cost them their developing star Jonathan Kuminga.
“They were talking quite seriously about Alex Caruso and Kelly Olynyk when they were walking down the street. Regarding Andrew Wiggins, teams were phoning. He had been performing considerably better, and from what I’ve been told, when it came down to it, everyone requested for Jonathan Kuminga, and they basically said, “We are not trading Kuminga.” Shelburne declared, “He’s untouchable.”
“Where they needed him, he was. However, they were encouraged by Andrew Wiggins’ recent performance to believe that he could return to his [All-Star] form from a few years ago when they won the championship and chose to hold onto their position.
Jonathan Kuminga-Andrew Wiggins Pairing Finally Working
Once they made amends after The Athletic revealed that Kuminga had lost faith in Steve Kerr, the Warriors rookie forward surged to become the team’s second-best player and hasn’t looked back.
Since then, Kuminga has played in 17 games and averaged 20.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 40% from three-point range and 56.6% from the field.
The once unplayable Kuminga-Wiggins tandem was reunited with Draymond Green upon his return from his second suspension.
Since the Los Angeles Lakers on January 27, when Steve Kerr destroyed the Kuminga-Wiggins-Green frontline, Wiggins has averaged 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 52.2% from outside the arc and 54.2% from the field.
Since Kerr committed to that new starting five, they are 7-2.
Cleaning the Glass reports that with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, that Kuminga-Wiggins-Green frontline is plus-15.9. And when freshman Brandin Podziemski takes Thompson’s spot in that lineup, their net rating jumps to an astounding plus-40.1.
Warriors Pay Tribute to Dejan Milojević With Big Win
The Warriors defeated Dejan Milojević 129-107 on February 13, paying a touching homage to the assistant coach who passed away last month from a heart attack in Salt Lake City.
Curry told NBA.com, “It was definitely weird without Steve [Kerr]. We knew this trip was going to be tough all the way around, just the emotions coming back to a place where it happened.” Recognising and appreciating what they were doing, where they were, and where they ought to have been supported. Then, we did a wonderful job of going out and letting the game honour Milojević.
With a classic 26-point showing from Thompson and a 25-point effort from Curry, the Warriors grieved yet did what they did best—play basketball.
Klay Thompson Willing to Sacrifice to Stay
Following a difficult five-point performance, Thompson hit 11 of 19 in their exciting victory over Phoenix on February 10.
Logan Murdock of The Ringer reported a story before to the game indicating that Thompson is amenable to playing a smaller role in order to continue with the Warriors after this season.
Indeed, Thompson answered Murdock, “that’s not at all wrong.” “Next year, I’ll be 35. Even at 35, having recovered from an ACL and an Achilles [tear], I still have the potential to be a really talented player. Though perhaps not the player who set an NBA record with 37 points in a quarter and scored 60 points in three quarters, he is still a serious threat. My style of play is based on Ray Allen and Reggie Miller, two players who were very successful up until their late 30s. I therefore intend to sort of follow that pattern.
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