SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors got a bit of good news Saturday before departing to Sacramento.
Rookie Jonathan Kuminga was cleared to participate in full-team practice, the team said in an update Saturday afternoon. Kuminga strained the right patellar tendon in his right knee during the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ preseason game Oct. 6 against the Nuggets and has sat out every subsequent practice.
The Warriors said Kuminga is making “good progress” but that he would miss the team’s next three games. He’ll be re-evaluated again Friday, the day after Golden State hosts Memphis in the final of those contests. He participated in non-contact drills Saturday, Kerr said.
Kuminga, 19, was the Warriors’ top choice in the past NBA draft with the No. 7 overall pick.
But he’s been forced to ride the bench in street clothes for his first NBA games, seated beside James Wiseman and Klay Thompson, who also continue to recover from injuries.
Kuminga has been working with assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, and Kerr said this week that the rookie was “ramping it up quite a bit” in his workouts.
“Jonathan is really an exciting prospect and so young,” Kerr said. “The young guys are just learning what this league is about, and this league is about work. It’s about figuring out how to build that foundation at an early age, just like Steph and Draymond and Andre did 10, 15 years ago, that’s what James, JK and Moses (Moody), that’s what they have to do.”
Before the injury, which he said occurred coming down from a block attempt, Kuminga had made a name for himself in training camp with a strong work ethic and more refined game than expected.
“He’s the swaggiest guy walking around,” Draymond Green said recently, with a laugh. “He sees the game way better than I thought he’d see the game, which is great. … The way he can put the ball on the floor past the defense and kick it out, I didn’t expect him to be able to read the floor like that.”
In other injury news, the Warriors listed veteran Andre Iguodala as questionable for Sunday’s game, with left hip soreness. Kerr said Iguodala sat out practice Saturday.
The Warriors tip off against the Kings at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Golden1 Center in Sacramento.
Source: www.mercurynews.com