Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga revealed he was surprised after Chris Paul trade: ‘I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s gonna work’

Jonathan Kuminga is still waiting for his chance to prove himself with the Warriors, as he expects this upcoming campaign to be his breakthrough season. During an exclusive interview with “Inside The Warriors”, the foward was asked about his thoughts on the Chris Paul trade.

The 20-year-old admitted he didn’t expect this transfer to go through, but can’t help but wonder how it’s all going to work out on the basketball floor.

“I was surprised,” he expressed. “Watching CP growing up, the way he plays a different type of basketball than the Warriors. Me being on the Warriors for the for the past two years now, we play a different type of basketball playing at a fast pace. We move off the ball a lot.

“I’m just looking forward to seeing how it’s gonna work, and I feel like CP is a smart player. He has a lot of experience, and I feel like he’s gonna bring so much that we didn’t have on the team, and I’m looking forward to it.”

According to veteran teammate Draymond Green, Paul is only going to help the young talent improve his game. Check out his remarks as he was recently invited on Paul George’s podcast:

"Chris Paul will completely unlock Jonathan Kuminga and his growth."

– Draymond Green. 💯

(via @PodcastPShow)

pic.twitter.com/JKgDZzPseB

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 3, 2023

By the way that Paul’s been attending the press, you can tell that the veteran point guard is very excited to move foward with this new step in his 18-season NBA career. When asked to explain how he feels about getting used to this squad, he thinks it’s more simple that you might think.

“Not to like sound crazy or whatnot, but at the end of the day, it’s basketball,” he assured. “You know, it’s not brain surgery. I’m going into a situation with a bunch of guys who’ve been playing together for a long time.”

The former Suns player recalled he’s been part of many healthy transitions into new teams, and this won’t be the exception.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play on three USA teams, ‘06, ’08 and 2012,” Paul recalled. “It’s high-IQ basketball, guys that play off reads and whatnot, and what you learn is you figure it out. Everybody don’t have the answers right now.

“We’ll practice, I’m sure there’s going to be some things that I’ve got to learn, some things that they’ve got to learn about me, but that’s the case with any team.”

Many NBA experts are placing Kuminga outside of the Bay Area, as they consider he’s yet to prove himself in the Warriors jersey

In this week’s podcast of his own show, The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo took former top 10 draft picks and divided them into four categories. He said that he’s not worried about the tier one club, while the fourth one’s are “just over, no expectations anymore”.

The analyst then placed Kuminga in the thrid category, characterizing them as “if you don’t do anything this year, who are we kidding?”

“Kuminga. Pretty self-explanatory. Yes there are flashes. You know what? 450+ guys that play in the NBA, they’re all pretty good at basketball – there’s usually going to be some flashes”, Russillo explained. “Now granted, Kuminga’s flashes are probably more impressive than 90% of the league, but the non-flash stuff… it’s just not there enough.”

Kuminga, who was chosen as the 7th overall pick two years ago, has already earned a championship in his rookie year and just recorded averages of 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per contest this past season.