Steve Kerr Comments on Kuminga's Status After Butler's Knee Injury

Jimmy Butler suffered a knee injury against the Miami Heat on Monday. He got an MRI after the game.

There's a chance it's a season-ending injury, but even if it isn't, he'll likely be out for a while.

After the game, Steve Kerr was asked if the Warriors could play Jonathan Kuminga moving forward now that Butler is injured. He replied, "Sure. Absolutely."

Kuminga has missed the last 16 games, and most of those have been healthy DNPs. Several hours before the Jan. 2 game against the Thunder, Kerr said that Kuminga would play, but then shortly before the game started, he was ruled out with a back injury.

There has been speculation that Kuminga and the Warriors front office came to an agreement that they wouldn't play him anymore with the objective to trade him before the Feb. 5 deadline.

Then on Jan. 15, the first day Kuminga was eligible to be traded, a source told ESPN's Anthony Slater and Shams Charania that Kuminga demanded a trade.

For as long as Butler is out, the Warriors need more players with Kuminga's build. He's a 6'7", 225-pounder who won't get pushed around by other power forwards.

And one of the big reasons Kuminga's playing time was erratic was his poor fit with Butler and Draymond Green, as all three are below-average three-point shooters. Now with Butler out, Kuminga would fit much better.

So it actually makes basketball sense to immediately give Kuminga at least a significant bench role, but we'll see if this relationship is too strained for that.

In any event, it was eye-opening that Kerr would even suggest that Kuminga could play for this team after all that has happened recently.