Jonathan Kuminga is determined to become an NBA star, a goal that is both understandable and admirable. But his mindset should have the Miami Heat thinking twice about trying to trade for him.
The 22-year-old is on the verge of entering restricted free agency, and according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater, the Heat have "legitimate interest" in acquiring him after missing out on Kevin Durant. Within that same piece, Kuminga lamented his inconsistent role with the Golden State Warriors, while acknowledging he still has every intention of reaching stardom.
“That’s what’s been on my mind,” Kuminga told Slater of becoming someone who can drive an entire offense. “Things take time, but I feel like I’m at the point where that has to be my priority, to just be one of the guys a team relies on. Aiming to be an All-Star. Multiple times. Aiming to be great...Wherever I’m going to be at, it don’t matter if it’s the Warriors or if it’s anywhere else, it’s something I want. I want to see what I could do. I know I got it. So I want to really see. I’ve never got that chance.”
Goal-oriented confidence is nothing to troll, let alone decry. And Kuminga, to his credit, has shown flashes of being an excellent scorer—someone who can generate rim pressure against set defenses, draw fouls, and just generally get buckets. But he has never once sustainably flirted with powering an entire offense. So before Miami commits to a sign-and-trade pursuit, it must first decide whether its own aims align with Kuminga's aspirations.
Jonathan Kuminga's All-Star aspirations may be a red flag
The Heat should have no qualms about integrating another star into its rotation. Especially one who can be the driving force of an entire offense. The problem? Kuminga isn’t that player.
This past season, the Warriors offense ranked in the third percentile of efficiency when he played without Stephen Curry. During those minutes, Kuminga saw his efficiency plummet on twos, going from a 53.6 percent conversion rate with Steph, to a 48.9 percent clip without him. His three-point percentage, meanwhile, hovered just below 32 percent in either case.
While this isn’t an end-all measurement of JK’s skill, it is fairly telltale—particularly when you consider so many of these stretches came against opposing bench units rather than starters. For as talented as he can be at getting to the basket, Kuminga remains reliant on the spacing, shot-making, and facilitation of others to get his buckets.
What’s more, he has seldom shown the ability to set up scoring opportunities for others. Among 87 players who matched Kuminga’s usage rate (23.4) while logging at least 1,000 total minutes over the past four seasons, his assist percentage ranks 75th. And out of 103 players who finished at least as many drives last season (381), Kuminga’s pass percentage placed 86th.
The Heat aren't built to help Jonathan Kuminga transform his game
If Kuminga is going to even approach stardom, he needs to materially branch out and hone his weaknesses on the offensive end. For that to happen, he has to land with either a rebuilding squad, or a team that has a top-tier table-setter to help streamline his development.
Right now, the Heat check neither of those boxes. They haven’t stripped it down enough to enter a rebuild, and they continue to need a complete reset at the point guard position.
Adding Kuminga to the fold does nothing to clarify Miami’s direction. On the contrary, it stands to worsen current circumstances. He will cost assets and financial flexibility to obtain, without having a star’s impact on the win column, because he’s not a star. And as things currently stand, the Heat aren’t set up to help him become one, either.