SAN ANTONIO – Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga is day-to-day with the bilateral knee tendinitis that prevented him from playing Friday against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center.
Kuminga participated in warmups Friday, shooting set shots and quarter-speed jumpers, and the Warriors are operating cautiously after he left the first half of Wednesday’s win over San Antonio with knee soreness. Speaking pregame Friday night, head coach Steve Kerr said, “Hopefully over the next couple of days as he visits with our training staff every day, they’ll get him on track and he’ll be back soon, but (his playing status is) just day-to-day.”
The fifth-year forward was initially questionable to play Wednesday against the Spurs at Frost Bank Center, checking out of Golden State’s 125-120 win in the final minute of the first half. He was ruled out of the second half and Kerr said postgame that “during the game, he told us he was starting to get sore.”
Gary Payton II replaced Kuminga in Golden State’s second-half rotation.
Kuminga started the first 12 games of his fifth season as a forward for the Warriors, with whom he signed a two-year contract last month worth up to $48.5 million with a team option for 2026-27. In October, he averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 55.4% and 45% from 3-point range. In November, he’s averaging 10.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists, shooting 40.8% from the field and 17.6% from 3-point range.
Although Kuminga is Golden State’s most dynamic athlete, he played as a reserve Wednesday for the first time this season as Will Richard and Moses Moody joined Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green in a small-ball starting lineup.
“Jimmy needs some shooting around him,” Kerr said Wednesday night. “We wanted to get Moses and Will out there for the spacing. One of the things Will has been doing a great job of is just moving the ball. Steph and Draymond thrive on ball movement.”
Golden State’s six-game trip continues Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Kerr honors Beam: Kerr wore a white T-shirt to his pregame news conference Friday night with “John Beam” printed on it in black atop a heart. The renowned former Laney College football coach, an advocate for Oakland youth, was shot Thursday inside the school’s field house, dying Friday at 66.
Long outspoken against gun violence, Kerr said “Coach Beam was a legend. Today is a really, really sad day. A sad day for the Bay Area. A sad day for Coach Beam’s family and everybody in Oakland. He was a revered figure in Oakland. Did so much for so many people and so, on behalf of the Warriors, I just want to extend our condolences and remind everybody that we have to be the change as a community, as citizens – we have to be the ones who insist we address the gun violence issue in this country.”
This article originally published at Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga ruled out for Friday’s rematch with Spurs.