The Golden State Warriors had the chance to lean on Jonathan Kuminga for only one complete game in 2026. His second game after a month of DNPs went awry. The forward left the game against the Mavericks late in the first half. The Warriors later announced he was not returning to the game. Following the Golden State Warriors’ 123-115 loss, which dropped them to 0-2 since losing Jimmy Butler, the situation surrounding Jonathan Kuminga and comments from Steve Kerr presented a bleak outlook.

Kuminga landed awkwardly on a fast break, limping to an empty courtside seat to briefly collect himself before staggering toward the locker room. According to Anthony Slater, Kuminga told the staff that he’s in pain and wanted out of the game. He was eventually ruled out at halftime with unspecified ankle and knee injuries on his left leg.

Reporters at Dallas’ American Airlines Center watched Jonathan Kuminga cautiously mind his leg as he walked out of the Warriors’ locker room. He politely declined to speak to reporters, saying, “I’m out. I’m hurting right now.”

“I’m hurting right now,” is the last thing Dub Nation wants to hear from JK after watching the brutal way Jimmy Butler tore his ACL. That brought JK back in the fold when the Warriors’ options on size had been limited.

Kerr was relying on a combination of Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton in non-Stephen Curry minutes during the game. But it was Kuminga who had been bringing a spark off the bench since his return in the January 20 game.

After a month-long exile from Steve Kerr’s rotation, Kuminga’s prognosis could mean another extended break.

Steve Kerr didn’t have good news on Jonathan Kuminga

Steve Kerr had barely sat behind the microphone when the brief question came: “Steve, Jon?” He didn’t have a promising update after the game either.

“I just talked to him,” Kerr told reporters. “He said he’s going to get an MRI tomorrow. It was both the knee and the ankle. We’ll see how bad it is. It’s such a shame; he was playing great. That definitely hurt as well—you know, not having him available for the second half.”

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The Dubs have a day’s break to travel to Minneapolis to take on the Timberwolves on Saturday. As much as fans are hoping that a day’s rest will bring Jonathan Kuminga back, only those MRIs will confirm the severity of the injury.

After being a healthy scratch for 16 games, Kuminga’s return was short-lived, and the injury now complicates an already tense trade market.

Jimmy Butler provided the late-game jolt the Warriors needed, taking pressure off Stephen Curry. Without him, Kuminga had the size to take on the opponents’ offensive pressure. As Kerr admitted, the Warriors lacked a secondary scoring punch without Kuminga in the second half, which proved costly down the stretch against a healthy Mavericks squad.

The injury adds another layer of uncertainty to Kuminga’s future. Since demanding a trade on January 15, his 20-point performance in his comeback against the Raptors skyrocketed Kuminga’s value. He was on a hot start in Dallas, too, scoring 10 points in less than 10 minutes.

If the MRI reveals a serious double injury in the knee and ankle, it could effectively freeze any trade potential ahead of the February 5 deadline. Both JK and the Warriors are in a state of limbo once more. For now, the Warriors are holding their breath, hoping their young asset isn’t the latest casualty in a season increasingly defined by the trainer’s room.