The Golden State Warriors are shaking up their starting lineup three games into the 2024-25 season, and Shams Charania’s announcement about it looks very dramatic.

“Breaking News: BENCHED” is a very dramatic way to report that Jonathan Kuminga will come off the bench for Tuesday’s home game versus the New Orleans Pelicans. The Warriors are missing regular starters Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins, who have an injured ankle and a sore back, respectively. They’ll start masked man Brandin Podziemski and the recently-extended Moses Moody in their place, but Steve Kerr is also elevating sharpshooter Buddy Hield to the starting lineup in Kuminga’s place.

Kuminga hasn’t started this season, a contract year for him, particularly strongly. He’s averaging eight points per game and he’s shot 1-for-9 from three-point range. But while the headline implies a dramatic change in the Warriors’ feelings about their young star, or some rules violation that got him benched, it’s most likely simply a response to matchups.

New Orleans is a guard-heavy team whose only offensive threat in the frontcourt is Zion Williamson. They have Daniel Theis and Yves Missi at center, neither of whom demands a double-team or even a single-team most of the time. The Pelicans’ backup power foward is 6-foot-5 Javonte Green. In other words, the Warriors don’t need size in this matchup. They need shooting.

That doesn’t mean Kuminga will necessarily be happy with the move, nine months after he said he’d “lost faith” in Steve Kerr giving him consistent playing time. But neither is there a reason to see this move as anything more than a temporary decision. The team also might believe that facing the Pelicans’ shorthanded bench is just what Kuminga needs to get his offense going.

It’s also ironic that even with Kerr giving Moody an opportunity in the starting lineup, along with a second-year guard and a second-year center, the story is still about Kerr benching a young player. He might be worried about losing Draymond Green if he has to start alongside four players 24 years old and younger.

Moody’s doing well so far, averaging 10 points off the bench while hitting two triples per game at a 40% clip. Podziemski hasn’t shot well so far, but he also doesn’t look comfortable playing in his protective mask. Meanwhile, Hield has been on fire, sinking 13 three-pointers already this year on 25 attempts for a tidy 19 points per game.

We’ll see how the new lineup works Tuesday night. If the Warriors lose a second straight, it’s possible that Moody or Hield could be “BENCHED” for Wednesday, and Shams will definitely be on top of it.

Kuminga's Reaction

Sixty-five minutes before tipoff, Jonathan Kuminga stood at his locker after running pregame sprints across the Warriors’ training-room floor in the Chase Center. As he warmed up, ESPN reported that the Warriors were bringing him off the bench even though they had Steph Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton unavailable.

Kuminga said he hadn’t yet talked face-to-face with Steve Kerr about the decision.

“It’s his decision,” Kuminga said. “I’m not the coach. If Steve’s made his decision, he’s made his decision. I’m not the coach.”

Kuminga said he’s “not tripping” about coming off the bench, but that there is growing skepticism within Kuminga’s camp about Kerr’s commitment to featuring the wing in Golden State’s offense.

Just three games into the season, after Kuminga’s camp and the Warriors couldn’t strike a deal on a rookie extension, tensions are bubbling between the two sides.

Contract Negotiations

Negotiations never gained serious traction between the Warriors and Kuminga before the rookie extension deadline. The Warriors valued in-season flexibility that would’ve disappeared had they extended Kuminga. Kuminga’s camp wasn’t hard-lined at the max-contract, but never received offers they deemed market value, per sources.

On Tuesday night, Kerr declined to announce a starting lineup in his pregame press conference. When asked directly if Kuminga would start, he said, “Possibly.”

Kerr then didn’t have to answer questions pregame about his starting lineup of Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis. It appears the Warriors prioritized Moody’s 3-point shooting over Kuminga’s downhill threat, as well as keeping the continuity of Green and Jackson-Davis together.

A Surprising Decision

Choosing to bring Kuminga off the bench against New Orleans is a surprising decision from the coaching staff. With Curry, Wiggins and Melton each ruled out with injuries, the game shaped up one in which the Warriors would need to feature Kuminga heavily on offense. He averaged 16.1 points per game last season and is arguably Golden State’s most naturally gifted scorer.

Kuminga has struggled to start the season, though. Through the first three games of the season, he’s averaging 8.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game. The big lineup with Kuminga playing small forward next to two non-shooting bigs hasn’t yet complemented his game, and the 12-man rotation Kerr is using has trimmed down his minutes.

“I don’t ever worry about a small sample size like that,” Kerr said of Kuminga. “JK had a really good preseason, he’ll come around. We’re going to need his force, his athleticism. Tonight could be a big night for him in that regard, depending on how the game plays out. We’ve obviously played 12 people each game, which means it’s going to be a little harder for guys individually to find their rhythm, because they’re not playing as much. I’m not worried about JK at all. He’ll come around.”

Kuminga answered questions in a professional manner at his locker before the game, repeating that he’s not the coach and the decision is out of his hands. He said he’s just here to play when asked if he has a preference between starting or coming off the bench; he started 46 of 74 games played last year.

He also described the start to his season as “decent.”

“You’re not just going to come out of the gate and be perfect every time,” Kuminga said. “You’re trying to figure out things, trying to figure out new people, the way we’re playing. Different offense, different sets. So, just got to figure it out.”

A Relationship to Watch

The relationship between Kerr and Kuminga is one to watch. Last season, after Kerr benched Kuminga for the final 18 minutes of a loss to Denver, The Athletic reported that Kuminga “lost faith” in his coach.

Now, less than a week into the season, the two have some sorting out to do.

“I’m used to — this is my fourth year,” Kuminga said. “This isn’t the first time things like that happened. Like I said, I’m not the coach, that’s his decision. We’ll roll with his decision.”

New Lineup, New Approach

With Steph Curry (ankle), Andrew Wiggins (back) and Andrew WIggins (back) all set to miss Tuesday's contest due to injury, Steve Kerr made an early change to the Golden State Warriors' starting lineup before facing the New Orleans Pelicans.

On Tuesday against the Pelicans, The Warriors will bring fourth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga off the bench, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

Kuminga started all three of Golden State's games to open the season. In three games, Kuminga is averaging eight points on 33.3% shooting from the field with 3.3 rebounds and an assist per game.

With Kuminga coming off the bench, the Warriors will slide Moses Moody into the starting lineup. Moody will start alongside Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

The Warriors will meet the Pelicans on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT at Chase Center. The Warriors will play the Pelicans again on Wednesday for the second leg of a back-to-back.