Kenyon Martin reveals why Kuminga and Hield fell out of favor: failing to defer to Stephen Curry.
Much of the conversation around Jonathan Kuminga’s uneven tenure with the Golden State Warriors has centered on his relationship with head coach Steve Kerr. Kuminga’s fluctuating role, repeated trips in and out of the rotation, and eventual trade raised persistent questions about what ultimately went wrong.
Former No. 1 overall pick Kenyon Martin recently offered a blunt explanation that reframed the situation less as a coaching conflict and more as a hierarchy issue.
Speaking on a podcast, Martin grouped Kuminga with Buddy Hield, arguing that both players landed in Kerr’s “doghouse” for the same underlying reason. According to him, neither consistently deferred to Stephen Curry.
“One thing that you took from it, like, people wonder Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga, why they was at the dog house, those are two guys that didn't defer to Steph,” Martin said. “They didn't. When Buddy touched the ball, you knew what he was doing with it.”
Additionally, Martin pointed to a moment from Hield’s early days in Golden State, when Kerr jokingly reintroduced him to Curry during a timeout after Hield bypassed an open look for the league’s greatest shooter.
The joke, Martin suggested, carried a clear message. In Kerr’s system, offensive freedom comes with an understanding of who the offense ultimately belongs to.
"It was a kidding moment, but it was some truth in it a couple of years when Buddy first got there, and Steve Kerr's like: 'Buddy, meet Steph, the greatest shooter of all-time.' Like it was some joke, but there was some truth to it, right? So he never did. He never did defer to Steph, and we all know Jonathan Kuminga didn't as well. That's how they ended up at the end of the bench," he added.
In Martin’s view, Kuminga never fully embraced that reality either. A natural scorer with a strong slashing profile and confidence attacking in isolation, Kuminga often played with a shoot-first mentality.
While that aggressiveness is valued in many contexts, Martin implied it became an issue in Golden State, where ball movement and deference to Curry are non-negotiable principles.
That tension grew more visible over time. Kuminga’s minutes fluctuated sharply this season, and he eventually fell out of the rotation entirely, receiving multiple DNPs before formally requesting a trade.
The Warriors ultimately moved both Kuminga and Hield to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal headlined by Kristaps Porzingis, effectively closing the book on a once-promising developmental arc.
For Martin, the change of scenery could be exactly what Kuminga needs. Atlanta, he noted, offers a different environment, one that may be more receptive to Kuminga’s attacking style and individuality. At just 23, Kuminga still has time to redefine his trajectory, especially if given consistent minutes and a clearer offensive role.
The Warriors, meanwhile, doubled down on a long-standing organizational truth. In Golden State, talent alone is not enough. Buy-in matters just as much — particularly when it comes to orbiting around Stephen Curry.