On defense, Kuminga also had considerable positional versatility. His outstanding athleticism and physical attributes gave him the foundation to become a quality defender.
So why was such a seemingly excellent young wing considered a relatively unsuccessful investment?
The reasons were simple.
The first, and most important, was basketball IQ.
Slow reactions when handling the ball, sluggish decision-making, poor reads on offense and defense, inconsistent timing on passes, occasional missed assignments, rotations a beat too late, getting pulled out of position by a screener's movement—all of these were issues of basketball IQ.
This was already the third season of Kuminga's career, yet he still often looked like a stranger to his own team during games, drifting outside the system and slipping into disjointed, chaotic play. For a team like the Spurs, built around its head coach, that was hardly a trait worth praising...
Some of Kuminga's tendencies might have stemmed from bad habits formed without systematic training in his early years, but the bigger reason was undoubtedly that he had failed—or never tried—to correct them himself.
Losing his rhythm on the court, letting opponents dictate his play, getting emotional, and losing focus were all things that seriously affected his overall performance.
Unfortunately, Kuminga had done all of them, sometimes even several at once... Quite the impressive display of firing two bows at once~~
Compared with those issues, even his limited three-point threat, inconsistent shooting, and rough ballhandling might actually have had less serious consequences.
After all, those shortcomings could be compensated for and concealed through coordinated team play.
But basketball IQ, temperament, and focus were another matter...
Of course, turning back to the game, Kuminga had not actually done anything wrong on that last defensive possession. Being unable to stop Paul George's lateral step-back was perfectly normal.
That much was still