To open the season, Jonathan Kuminga seemed to have found a groove with the Warriors. Through the season's first nine games, he averaged 17.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and shot 41.4% from 3-point range. Coach Steve Kerr said Kuminga was the team's fourth full-time starter.

In the last five games, he has fallen off to 9.6 points and five rebounds a game, shooting 15.4% from beyond the arc, with almost as many turnovers (2.7) as assists (2.8). With that, Kerr moved Kuminga to the bench, but that has brought up old feelings from a long and rocky relationship with his coach, reports Anthony Slater at ESPN.

"He feels like the scapegoat again," one team source said …

Kuminga, team sources said, had voiced to Kerr a desire to be coached harder. There was even a meeting about it in their Sacramento hotel prior to the ninth game of the season and Kerr appeared to make it a point during the Kings game to call Kuminga over and get on him constructively several times.

But 4-1 became 6-6. Kuminga's knees began bothering him. His defensive juice and burst to the rim lessened. He went 1 of 9 shooting at home against the Pacers, missing all five of his 3s. Coaches dinged him for his perimeter shot selection as a reason for his minute reduction (season-low 20).

The cloud over all of this is that, as of Jan. 15, Kuminga becomes trade eligible, and the Warriors are expected to test the trade waters. Part of the point of the two-year, $ 46.8 million contract (with a team option the second year) was that it was very tradable. This is a case where it feels like a fresh start somewhere else would be good for Kuminga, but the Warriors are not going to get much value back in a trade if he is struggling in a bench role. Kuminga has been out of the last four games with knee tendonitis, and the Warriors went 2-2 during that part of the road trip.

At some point in the next month, Kerr is going to lean on Kuminga again — the Warriors could use his athleticism — but if he is going to prove to other teams he deserves the opportunity he feels he is not getting in Golden State, he has to be more consistent. And stay healthy.

He has to look like the guy from the first nine games of the season.