Jonathan’s Kuminga’s role model, Klay Thompson, won’t be joining him in The Bay this upcoming season and Kuminga has shared his honest thoughts on Klay’s departure.
Thompson was rumored to be leaving Golden State for months and it finally happened when he signed with Dallas during free agency.
Kuminga’s time with Klay spanned three seasons, after he joined the Warriors as a rookie from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The rising star says Klay’s presence will definitely be missed, but he hasn’t lost contact.
“I was a little shocked. Klay is somebody that took me under his wing when I first got drafted,” Kuminga told ESPN. “He was one of my role models when I was out there. He always told me how the league functioned and things like that. And obviously, we all know in the league, the next day you can wake up and you happen to be somewhere else. Things just move faster.
“I’m happy for him at the end of the day. Every decision he makes, he makes for his own good and for his future. I still talk to him, ask him questions about how things work and stuff like that. But it is what it is.”
The Dubs General Manager Mike Dunleavy also recently spoke about how the team plans to adjust to life without one of the team’s most beloved characters.
“I think it’s keeping some of the continuity and a lot of the things that we’ve done over the years,” Dunleavy said. “A lot of that’s not going to change. Obviously, at times, some cases do, and in this case — a rather large one. But we’re excited about our young group we have, a couple guys out here tonight, that we think can fill in, and some guys we’ve added. That’s just sort of how things evolve with organization [and] with teams.
“As I said the other day, nothing lasts forever. Here we are pivoting to something different. And I think it’s going to be good. We’re excited about the things we’ve done, and in many ways, can have a better team.”