Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors … reunited

It didn’t take long: The Congolese swingman and the NBA’s hottest team play host to his old team Saturday night in Atlanta

ATLANTA — Jonathan Kuminga was taking his sweet time.

The rest of the Hawks' roster, their mix of twentysomethings and grizzled veterans that has morphed into the NBA's hottest team, had long since vacated Atlanta's locker room inside State Farm Arena after taking care of the visiting Brooklyn Nets last Thursday.

I'd been cautioned that Kuminga moves without hurry after a game, but you can certainly understand that. Any chance to operate at his preferred speed had become an extreme rarity throughout his time with the Golden State Warriors given how frequently Kuminga had to struggle for consistent playing time. Ditto for his seemingly interminable restricted free agency last summer, which wound up consuming the entire summer until he finally landed a two-year, $48 million contract extension on Sept. 30 that, in truth, made him more of a trade chip than an established Warrior.

Now, though, Kuminga strode forward at his pace, wearing a sleeveless white undershirt that exposed one burly shoulder … with a light brown Carhartt jacket draped over the other like a matador. He plucked at my maroon velvet blazer and said with a grin: “This is nice.”

There was, at last, a noticeable calm about the 23-year-old, who spent the first four months of the season on edge, knowing that he was a virtual lock to be dealt away somewhere so Golden State could fortify its supporting cast around Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.

The only real curveball, in the end, was the destination. As the Feb. 5 trade deadline approached, Kuminga and his representation had certainly heard the rumbles of interest involving the Kings and the Mavericks, as well as the Lakers and the Bulls. Just not the Hawks.

“I was very surprised,” Kuminga told The Stein Line.

The Kuminga Saga is pertinent again for a number of reasons.