Joe Lacob has been a central figure in Kuminga's NBA career since the beginning. Bob Myers was team president and Dunleavy assistant general manager when they drafted Kuminga in 2021. They gave the collective green light, but Lacob was a driving force in the selection when others, including a few on the coaching staff, voiced a Franz Wagner preference, sources said. Lacob has remained a staunch Kuminga supporter and vocal believer in his long-term future. He voiced an unwillingness to include Kuminga in a proposed trade from Chicago for Alex Caruso a couple of seasons back, sources said, and was still glowing about Kuminga's performance in May after he rose from out of Steve Kerr's first-round rotation to the team's leading scorer in the second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Some Warriors coaches would have drafted Franz Wagner instead of Jonathan Kuminga in 2021 draft

Reporting by HoopsHype / Hoops Hype

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