CLEVELAND — In the lead up to a restricted free agency that will temporarily solve his uncertain NBA future, Jonathan Kuminga spent the last two weeks splitting time between two workout facilities on the east side of Cleveland. His days started around 7 a.m. His training wrapped around 5 p.m.

The two separate sessions of court work were done in a gym with three murals of NBA legends plastered on its interior wall: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, painted and peering over Kuminga as he blasted through an on-ball playmaking circuit designed by Ant Wells II, his skill development trainer, under the belief that Kuminga possesses the talent to become a great.

The imagery is fitting considering the context of the moment.

Kuminga returned from a 31-game absence late in the regular season and struggled to settle into a low-usage, off-ball reserve role with Jimmy Butler suddenly in the mix for the Golden State Warriors. Steve Kerr pulled Kuminga from the rotation in the first round of the playoffs and has made regular reference about Kuminga’s need to sharpen the supplementary, role-playing aspects of his game.

But Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury changed the landscape and exposed the offensive shortcomings around the star guard. The Warriors had a desperate need for higher level creation, scoring and general offensive talent in the second round. Kuminga busted through the door with 18, 30, 23 and 26 points on 55 percent shooting the last four games against an active group of Minnesota Timberwolves defenders who struggled to stay in front of him or keep him off the free-throw line (25 attempts).

That sample on that stage only hardened Kuminga’s belief in chasing his preferred personal career path. His first crack at free agency is about finding the contract he desires but also seeking what he wants, not necessarily conforming into what this specific version of the Warriors needs. Kuminga has long held a dream of evolving into a star wing capable of driving an offense and leading a team. With his future in the balance this next month, he’s training and preparing accordingly.

“That’s what’s been on my mind,” Kuminga told The Athletic. “Things take time, but I feel like I’m at the point where that has to be my priority, to just be one of the guys a team relies on. Aiming to be an All-Star. Multiple times. Aiming to be great. … Wherever I’m going to be at, it don’t matter if it’s the Warriors or if it’s anywhere else, it’s something I want. I want to see what I could do. I know I got it. So I want to really see. I’ve never got that chance.”

Kuminga’s two-week regimen in Cleveland begins with morning activation work at Core Chiro, a high-end facility with all the strength trainers and modern tools to optimize a professional athlete. Then it’s a 15-minute drive to the gym for the first of his two court workouts.

This session includes a ton of dribble work and pick-and-roll reads. Those are two areas Kuminga is attempting to polish up this summer — tightening his handle and creating more for his teammates in high-screen action. He had six assists in the Timberwolves series. If he is to get an opportunity to be an offensive engine, he needs to locate and deliver to his teammates more often.

Kuminga’s shooting numbers in these workouts are being tracked. During a nine-day snapshot in mid-June, he took 3,145 3s and 3,251 shots inside the arc, making 56 percent of his 3s — some catch-and-shoot, some off-the-dribble — and 72 percent of his 2s. He’s working on his paint pull-ups, short floaters and mid-post moves. Those around him say he’s shooting it better than he ever has before. He says he feels like everything — skills, strength, mind, confidence — are starting to click.

But the percentages in a summer workout environment matter less than the amount of reps, the specified focus and what it signals. In a Curry plus Butler offense with Kerr directing traffic, Kuminga’s shot diet would presumably remain limited. He’d be asked to catch-and-shoot, slash, screen and only occasionally create. But he craves more.

“The more you hit those shots, those midrangers, (paint pull-ups and floaters), the more teams start adjusting on you, the more you make your team better, the more people rely on you and let you do those things and let you shoot those types of shots,” Kuminga said. “That’s pretty much what I’m putting a lot of work in, getting to my area where I wanna get my shots off and getting better and bring my percentages up.”

Kuminga’s four-season story with the Warriors isn’t about only untapped potential and lack of opportunity.

He’s had long stretches of relevant production. As a rookie, he started three playoff games and had a couple nice scoring nights in the second round. When Andrew Wiggins was away from the Warriors for the last two months of Kuminga’s second season, Kuminga averaged 14.2 points on 57 percent shooting in 21 post-All-Star break games, helping the Warriors to the sixth seed before Wiggins returned and Kuminga disappeared.

Kuminga set a franchise record with 138 dunks in his third season. He scored double-digits in 34 straight games. He averaged 20.6 points in January and finished that season at 16.1 points per game on 52.9 percent shooting. His fourth season included a big stretch prior to the ankle sprain — that at one point had Draymond Green declaring Kuminga up next and accepting a brief demotion — and the four-game playoff flurry to close against Minnesota.

“I did it here and there, but it was never a consistent role, a consistent role given to me,” Kuminga said. “It only happens five games on, 10 games off. I want it to be a consistent role. Because I know what I got. I know what I could bring. I know how much work I put in. I know I’m dedicated to this game, how much I love the game.”

It’s easier to envision Kuminga getting the guaranteed high-usage, on-ball opportunity he desires away from the Warriors. They employ Curry and Butler, and Kerr has made it clear the offense will revolve around those two, only tilting toward Kuminga when one of the two is out of the lineup. There’d be a clearer path on a younger roster without a pecking order this established.

But Kuminga’s talent and the handcuffs of both the CBA and restricted free agency complicate the situation. Given the limitations, will the Warriors’ front office decision-makers (Joe Lacob, Mike Dunleavy, Kirk Lacob) find a palatable enough sign-and-trade package to part with Kuminga? Or will the two sides have to find the right contract number to reconvene for a fifth season of a partnership that has fit issues and scar tissue?

The Kevin Durant trade might’ve helped. The Miami Heat missed out on Durant and have legitimate Kuminga interest, per league sources, among others expected to explore the idea as the market materializes. The Brooklyn Nets loom as a possible offer sheet team, but did use a chunk of their cap space in a Tuesday night trade.

But Kuminga is steadfast about his long-term desires.

“I trust my people, trust my agent (Aaron Turner),” Kuminga said. “I want to know more about how this trade stuff goes, how this sign-and-trade goes or how this contract goes. I want to learn more about it. But most of the time I just focus on playing, just working. The better I get, wherever I get my chance, it’s going to show.

“Wherever I go, wherever I’ll be, off the rip, I just want them to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, he deserved what he got. He deserved to be here. He worked hard for it.’ Wherever it is, that’s what I want it to feel like. I want to be great. I feel like I’m capable of being that, capable of doing some special things and I won’t just let it go like that. The only way to get there is just to lock in every single day.”

(Top photo courtesy of Gibou Njie)