The Warriors handled the Bulls without much trouble on Sunday night. Golden State beat Chicago at the United Center, 123-91, despite missing Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Al Horford. It was a good team win for the Dubs with contributions coming from all corners of the roster. But not from Jonathan Kuminga, who was a healthy scratch.

Kuminga’s entire career under Steve Kerr has been a rollercoaster in terms of playing time and it seems that will be the case again this season. Which may come as a surprise given the Warriors signed the former lottery pick to a $48.5 million deal mere months ago; such an investment usually reflects a desire to put the player on the court. Yet Kuminga is once again struggling to stay in the rotation. He began the year as a starter before getting moved to the bench (a move that reportedly had him feeling like a scapegoat). Then the 23-year-old forward missed a handful of games with knee tendinitis and has struggled quite a bit since returning. To that point Kuminga went 1-for-10 from the floor on Saturday against the Cavaliers, his fourth game back after returning from injury.

Then Sunday came and went without seeing Kuminga on the floor. The Warriors obviously did not need him to win and Kuminga’s struggles have been evident recently. But it’s notable nonetheless that a player making over $20 million a year was a DNP in what turned into a blowout win.

Kerr offered an explanation for the decision afterwards.

“It happens to everybody, pretty much, other than the stars,” Kerr said. “Guys come in and out of the rotation depending who’s available, how the team’s playing. Really wanted to get Gui (Santos)—I think the way Gui has played the last couple of nights after what he did down the stretch last year, you see the impact he makes with his energy. Then obviously getting (De’Anthony Melton) back, (Pat Spencer’s) emergence, we’ve got a lot of mouths to feed and tonight this is what we decided to do.”

Kerr was pressed why he thought Sunday’s game in particular was the time to switch things up.

“Just because of the way our team looks. Jimmy (Butler) came back tonight. (Kuminga) started last night. They play the same position. I like the group, the last couple of nights, the bench group... with Jimmy coming back tonight it made sense to play the other guys because they complement him really well.”

It’s an interesting answer.

On the one hand, his claim that healthy scratches are something every player deals is dubious. Sure, minutes will fluctuate, but most teams play the same eight to 10 players every night. Giving zero minutes to a player who was literally a starter one day prior is not the norm no matter how you slice it. And if Kerr wanted to give Kuminga some rest to ensure his previous injury issues don’t flare up on a back-to-back (not an unlikely line of reasoning given his struggles since returning), why not just say that?

On the other hand, Butler’s style of play definitely overlaps with Kuminga’s to the extent it’s more effective to put the bench mob around Butler than slot Kuminga alongside him. And ultimately whatever Kerr has to say is secondary to the simple fact that the Warriors won and that’s justification enough for whatever decisions he made in regards to the rotation.

Nevertheless it marks another intriguing chapter in Kuminga’s Warriors career.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steve Kerr Explains Why Jonathan Kuminga Was a Healthy Scratch in Warriors’ Win .

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