Jonathan Kuminga describes his lofty goals with Warriors under new contract

SAN FRANCISCO After finishing up a light practice with free throws at Chase Center on Thursday afternoon the man the entire NBA offseason revolved around stepped up to the microphone Jonathan Kuminga then made his first citizens comments since inking a new two-year million deal with the Warriors on Tuesday avoiding the Wednesday deadline to accept a million qualifying offer He scoffed at the notion that signing a short-term contract which would allow him to be traded in January could be seen as betting on himself Betting on myself that is helping us win a championship Kuminga disclosed I think that s our goal and that s how we re all looking at it I m fortunate glad I got this done He characterized the negotiations which saw both the Warriors and a handful of other teams offer various contracts as a learning experience for the soon-to-be -year-old I never thought I would experience that but it was a great experience and I m glad to veritably just go out there and listen to certain things Kuminga revealed Warriors coach Steve Kerr had previously noted he held no ill will toward Kuminga for contentious negotiations that saw the sportsman s agent Aaron Turner criticize Kerr by name Now that Kuminga was back at training camp it was business as usual for all parties involved He looked good and I think Jonathan is in good condition because he s been working out Kerr reported His teammates had expressed identical sentiments at Monday s media day separating Jonathan Kuminga the free agent from Jonathan Kuminga the person My teammates in the current era all of them were happy to see me back here he explained Kuminga was selected No overall in the NBA Draft but saw limited playing time during the Warriors run to the title He saw his minutes fluctuate last season when he averaged points per battle but saw his playing time decrease upon returning from a severe ankle injury after the Jimmy Butler agreement The coaching staff did not believe that the two wings could play effectively together something Kuminga hopes will change with a full training camp It s very easy and simple with Jimmy Kuminga revealed I don t see it not working and I think that with us having time together with me being healthy and him being healthy and here from Day it s going to help us figure out certain things about each other Kerr stated that he plans on having an in-depth sit-down conversation with the fifth-year forward who has publicly desired a more featured offensive role that may not exist on a Warriors gang that will run offense through Steph Curry and Butler Kuminga downplayed his desire for more shots on Thursday expressing a willingness to focus on defense Being involved on both sides and if it s on defense and it s Go guard the best contestant or if it s We need you to sum or We need you to guard certain people ' Kuminga stated I feel like that s what I m looking forward to He later reiterated his desire to be a key contributor on a unit that contends for a fifth title of the Curry era Related Articles What should we expect from the new spaced-out Warriors roster Kerr Dunleavy give Warriors perspective on Kuminga negotiations Free agent flurry Warriors sign Horford Melton Seth Curry on Day of training camp Kurtenbach Kuminga s agent fumbled negotiations with Warriors drew ire of Curry Seth Curry set to join older brother Stephen with Warriors Record I need to mark my name as somebody who helped this band win a championship and I think that would be beautiful Kuminga stated This echoed the role that Kerr outlined the day before The more he can defend with activity rebound run the floor and then there s a better chance he has to play Kerr mentioned on Wednesday You know everybody progresses at a different rate Kuminga entered training camp with more than just a new contract He also sported a new number going from to No a digit he wore before his NBA career I just want to try new things Kuminga disclosed It remains to be seen if a different number signifies a change in his standing on the Warriors or if it will be more of the same for the former lottery pick