The Warriors are a little banged up entering the final stretch of the 2024-25 NBA season, but coach Steve Kerr shared a promising update on two key players Wednesday evening.
Jonathan Kuminga, who was expected to make a return from a nagging sprained right ankle during Golden State’s current five-game road trip, likely won’t be back on the court until the team returns home. Kerr explained that while there was no significant setback during Kuminga’s recovery process, the injury was more serious than originally believed.
“No setback. The injury itself was more serious than anybody realized,” Kerr shared Wednesday on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs.” “And some of these things you just can’t predict. That’s one of the things I’ve learned during my time as coach, working with Rick [Celebrini] and the performance staff. There’s no exact recipe for these injuries, and everybody heals differently.
“I think as it turned out, JK’s injury was more of a setback than we realized in the beginning. He’s working hard, he’s working every day. He had a really good workout today. We feel like he’s getting close, but you just got to do the right thing and that’s what we’re all trying to do.”
Kuminga sustained the injury during the Warriors’ win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 4 when he jumped up to block a shot and rolled his ankle on the way down.
He since has missed 28 games and will miss his 29th as the Warriors officially ruled him out of Thursday’s contest against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
Golden State returns home for a seven-game homestand starting with the Detroit Pistons on Saturday at Chase Center. Kerr was asked if Kuminga would play against Detroit, to which he quickly responded that he couldn’t answer because it would be pure speculation on his end.
Kerr did share a positive update to another injured Warrior, Gary Payton II, who missed Tuesday’s game against the Knicks after a scary face-to-face collision with LaMelo Ball on Monday night in Charlotte.
“He’s doing well,” Kerr said. “He had a fracture from the collision, and I think he’s getting fitted for a mask. I believe we listed him as probable for [Thursday’s game]. So that’ll be great to get him back. He’s been playing really, really well.”
The Warriors are in the midst of a resurgence but still have plenty of work to do down the final stretch of the season. But it sounds like reinforcements soon are on the way.
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