Andre Iguodala Denies Stephen A. Smith Rumor About Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga
On Tuesday, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reported on First Take that Golden State Warriors young forward Jonathan Kuminga was "shortchanging" the Dubs with his attitude and work ethic.
"I'm worried about Kuminga," Smith said on the program. "I'm hearing too many things about him off the court in terms of his head. The level of discipline he lacks. You understand?
"Some of the foolishness," he continued. "I'm not getting in his personal business. I'm not saying nothing like that. I'm talking attitude, I'm not talking actions. I'm saying that attitude, the level of focus, commitment, determination, just putting your head down. Doing the work."
On Friday, Kuminga's teammate, Andre Iguodala, came to his defense.
"My young fella, I'm on his head," he said on his Point Forward podcast (h/t Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports). "He took some licks from Stephen A. I don't know how warranted they were because from what I heard he been doing what he supposed to do this summer."
Kuminga, 19, appeared in 70 games for the Warriors last year as a rookie, averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds. It was a bit role for Kuminga, and unsurprisingly, considering the Warriors had enough veteran talent to eventually win the title.
Now, he'll be looking to prove that he can earn an even bigger role in the 2022-23 campaign, and prove his detractors wrong.
