Jonathan Kuminga landing spots: Five teams that make some sense for Warriors' finally trade-eligible forward
Jonathan Kuminga can finally be moved -- so where could he land over the next three weeks?
By
Sam Quinn
•
9 min read
Jonathan Kuminga is finally, officially, trade-eligible. Most free agents who sign new contracts in the offseason can legally be moved starting on Dec. 15, but Kuminga, as a Bird Rights free agent who re-signed with his team and got a raise greater than 20%, needed to wait until Jan. 15 instead. Well, that extra month has now passed, and the Warriors can finally move on from their enigmatic former lottery pick.
And make no mistake, the Warriors are almost certainly going to do just that. After a decent start to the season, Kuminga has tailed off to the point that he is no longer getting minutes in Golden State. His poor 3-point shooting makes him an iffy fit next to Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, and despite five years in the system, Kuminga has never quite gotten the hang of Golden State's movement-heavy offense.
But the Warriors are something of an anomaly in the NBA. Most teams don't pass and cut and react the way that they do. There is at least some evidence to believe that, under more normal circumstances, Kuminga might still have a lot to offer the right team. He's a great athlete, and while his motor has never quite reflected that, maybe a change of scenery could renew his focus on the little things. He's tended to score well when injuries have allowed him higher usage. Sometimes a player just doesn't make sense on a specific team. Someone is going to bet on that being the case for Kuminga and Golden State.
So we're going to try to find out who. Below are five possible trade destinations for Kuminga before February's deadline. The Warriors have three weeks left to figure this out, and odds are, when the dust settles, Kuminga is playing for one of the teams below.
1. Sacramento Kings
Two teams were seriously linked to Kuminga in the offseason. One of them, the Phoenix Suns, no longer makes sense. Frankly, they're too good to mess with their formula right now. If they want to introduce a long-term upside play into their mix, they have Jalen Green on the roster who's only played in two games. More likely, the Suns just duck the luxury tax and call it a day.
The other was Sacramento. The Kings have no good vibes to preserve. They have no good anything to preserve. They're ranked 28th in defense and 29th in offense right now. Aside from Keegan Murray, who's having the worst year of his career, there isn't a keeper anywhere on the roster. The Kings just need young talent, wherever they can find it. Are they necessarily equipped to get the most out of a player Golden State couldn't? Probably not, but not even the Kings could manage Kuminga worse than Golden State has, so sure, why not take the swing?
There are a number of constructions this could take. The most obvious is the one Sacramento proposed over the summer: Malik Monk and perhaps some meager draft compensation. Reportedly, the lottery-protected first-round pick dangled over the summer is now off the table. However, Golden State could potentially have more interest in Monk now than it did back then. The Warriors' offense dies whenever Stephen Curry sits. Addressing it, ideally with a dual shooter/shot-creator, would help a fair bit. Still, he has two pricey years left on his contract, so that's no certainty.
Kuminga could also head to Sacramento in something bigger. Perhaps the Warriors take a grander swing on someone like Domantas Sabonis, sending Kuminga, other salary and draft picks to the Kings in a blockbuster. There are feasible paths here, provided the Warriors are open to that sort of investment. The cap math works on Sabonis, Keon Ellis and Precious Achiuwa -- all players who could feasibly play for the Warriors -- for Kuminga, Moses Moody, Buddy Hield and Al Horford. They'd just have to figure out appropriate pick compensation. It'd likely be somewhat steep. Sabonis is a recent All-Star, and with Curry nearing the end of his legendary career, the Warriors may justifiably be afraid of sacrificing draft picks deep into the future.
And then there's the chance that Golden State makes its big move with another team. They've been linked to just about every non-point guard on the market. In that world, it's plausible that the team they're negotiating with just doesn't want Kuminga, so they loop the Kings in instead to make it a three-team deal. Without knowing how seriously the Warriors are considering other moves, it's hard to say who the facilitator could be, but remember, the Warriors are extremely limited on matching salary. If they make a sizable trade, Kuminga almost has to be in it whether the other team wants him or not. That might be Sacramento's best chance at sealing the deal here.
2. Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks became a natural trading partner for Golden State the moment they fired Nico Harrison. Anthony Davis was a sensible Warriors target at one point, but given his injured left hand, he's probably off of the table for now. But Harrison stacked so many other big men -- a position of need for the Warriors -- that there's fortunately an alternative available in Daniel Gafford. The Mavericks are seeking any high-upside young players they can find in an effort to build a long-term team around Cooper Flagg. Some sort of swap involving the two of them, probably with more value going to Dallas, makes some sense.
So here's my pitch: Kuminga and Buddy Hield for Gafford and the bloated contract of Klay Thompson. Golden State gets its big man. Dallas takes its upside swing and gets off of Thompson, who's making almost $17 million next season, compared to Buddy Hield, who's guaranteed for only $3 million. Even if Thompson is overpaid, let's be honest about what's happening in Golden State right now. Appearances might mean as much as results. Once Steve Kerr called them a fading dynasty, the organization's expectations were clear. They understand, short of a trade much bigger than this one, that they are not going to win the championship. But they want to send Curry off right. Bringing Thompson back, much as the Heat did with Dwyane Wade years ago, is one way to do that. Dallas might require a bit of draft capital, but this is a workable construct.
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3. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers were a surprising addition to the reported list of possible Kuminga teams, but it actually makes some sense when you think about it. The Lakers aren't giving up real assets for anyone right now. They're running out the clock on the LeBron James era and waiting to rebuild their roster over the summer with their three tradable first-round picks and over $50 million in cap space. They won't give up picks or take on long-term money. If they're going to make a move, it's going to be shuffling deck chairs. Send out their expiring contracts for other expiring contracts, ideally with different skill sets. Kuminga has a team option for next season, his deal is effectively expiring.
So the swap here would be something like Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht for Kuminga. Hachimura's 3-point shooting makes him a bit more viable in lineups with Green and Butler. Kuminga would give the Lakers a badly needed dose of athleticism. Would either player fix their new team? No. The Lakers don't just need athleticism, they need someone who directs it in ways Kuminga doesn't. Defense. Cutting. General energy and chaos. The Warriors need shooting, but Hachimura is a ball-stopper. Those tend not to work out well in Golden State.
This is a last resort trade for both sides. A way to give the appearance of activity at the deadline rather than genuinely improving. But if there's nothing better out there, why not take a look at a talented player you might want to re-sign over the summer rather than sticking with what isn't working?
4. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks, like the Lakers, are more of a "necessary shakeup" destination than a team eager to give Kuminga the shot diet he wants. The Bucks have the second-best effective field goal percentage in the NBA. Their ability to generate shots isn't the problem. They're losing because they can't get stops, can't rebound, turn the ball over too much and never get to the line. Kuminga has the tools to help on those fronts. He's just rarely done it in practice. The Bucks need a wing. They probably need a different sort of wing.
But trading for Kuminga accomplishes a few things, aside from the acquisition of a lottery ticket that may pay off if he really does just need to get out of Golden State. The first is, again, optics. Milwaukee needs to look like it's trying. That's going to be key to getting Giannis Antetokounmpo to buy in. They could frame the Kuminga addition as a lesson learned. "We tried with old guys in the past and look what happened, we needed to get younger and more athletic!" There's some truth in that. Again, Kuminga's actual on-court history suggests he isn't the sort of player to solve those problems without a mindset shift in Milwaukee.
But the quiet benefit: the Bucks are far enough below the luxury tax line that they could make a fairly unbalanced trade. They can bring in Kuminga, making $22.5 million, for Bobby Portis, making $13.4 million, and one minimum salary. That isn't especially important right now, but it becomes far more important over the summer. The Bucks, thanks in part to all of the dead Damian Lillard money on their books, don't have that much matching salary on their books. Getting Kuminga gives them more to work with in June and July, when they, like the Lakers, will have three tradable first-round picks. The Bucks have a history of surprise blockbusters. Kuminga gives them another tool to do it with.
The Warriors were linked to Portis over the summer. He's a fairly straightforward fit for them as both an extra big man and a needed bench scorer. His contract is as long as Monk's, but worth less money. There's a feasible fit here if both sides want to explore it.
5. Brooklyn Nets
One of the bigger names linked to the Warriors in this cycle has been Michael Porter Jr. He's slightly more attainable for Golden State than some of the stars on bigger max contracts given their matching salary issues. The Warriors could do it with Kuminga and a few other role players, though draft picks would obviously have to be involved.
Unless Kuminga is extremely confident in the sort of contract Sacramento would give him (and he might be, they talked all summer), Brooklyn is probably the best-case outcome for him moving forward. What have the Nets been doing for the past several years? Acquiring forwards from other teams, pumping up their usage, and then trading them for a premium. They did it for Mikal Bridges, who got a hefty contract extension from the Knicks afterward. They did it for Cam Johnson. Now they're doing it for Porter. Over the last few years, no organization has been friendlier to scoring forwards in their 20s than the Nets.
If Kuminga wants to prove he can be a core scorer for someone, Brooklyn is where he'd have the best chance at doing it. The Kings may want him more, but, well, they're the Kings. Would you really want to entrust such a critical stage of your career to a team with their history? If the goal here is proving himself, getting to a young Nets team with a great coaching staff and no high-usage players standing in his way is his best long-term bet.
