9 out of 12! Kuminga’s debut was nothing short of spectacular! Thank you, Warriors!

It has arrived, the moment we’ve been waiting for.

In his Hawks debut, Kuminga stood out brilliantly, playing around 24 minutes off the bench, shooting 9 of 12 overall, 3 of 4 from three-point range, and 6 of 7 at the line, efficiently putting up 27 points plus 7 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals, with a +16 impact, leading his new team to a comfortable 119-98 victory over the Wizards.

He kept smiling nonstop; it’s clear he’s really happy to have moved on from the Warriors to join the Hawks.

When asked after the game why he kept smiling, Kuminga said: “We have a great vibe among the players, we joke around a lot, and I think bringing joy to the game is very important.”

Before this year’s trade deadline, the Warriors sent Kuminga and Hield to the Hawks in exchange for Porzingis, a championship-contending big man to bolster their 2024 roster.

Born on October 6, 2002, Kuminga is a 2.01m tall wing with a 2.11m wingspan, drafted 7th overall in the 2021 first round. Over four and a half seasons with the Warriors, he played 278 games, averaging 22.1 minutes, 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 50.3% from the field.

It’s worth noting that Kuminga won a championship with the Warriors in his rookie season (2021-22) and was once highly regarded, even seen as a potential successor to Curry. Unfortunately, differences in vision for the future led to their inevitable parting ways.

At least Kuminga could be traded, unlike some others...

Currently, the outlook for the Warriors’ future looks bleak: Curry (37), Butler (36), and Draymond Green (35) are all aging veterans, with contracts running through summer 2027. The only promising young players on the roster are Bojanowski and Moody, but their ceilings are limited.

So far this season, the Warriors hold a 30-28 record, sitting eighth in the West, 4.5 games behind sixth-place Lakers and 8 games ahead of the 11th-place Grizzlies; the Hawks stand 29-31, ninth in the East, 4 games behind sixth-place 76ers and 2 games ahead of 11th-place Bucks.

People thrive when they move; trees perish when they are uprooted.

Congratulations to Kuminga on starting a new chapter in his career. Let the past stay behind and focus on the present and future.