kuminga.jpg
Getty Images

Jonathan Kuminga has been on the trade block for seemingly his entire Golden State tenure, but the fifth-year forward feels closer than ever to getting a fresh start somewhere outside of the Bay Area. 

Kuminga became trade eligible Jan. 15 after a lengthy standoff in restricted free agency ended in him signing a two-year deal that was designed to be tradeable. However, after a strong first couple of weeks to start the season, Kuminga once again fell out of the rotation entirely with the Warriors, complicating his trade value. 

Shortly after he became trade eligible, reports emerged that Kuminga "demanded" a trade, which came as funny phrasing to many because there was no secret the Warriors sought to move him. As Mike Dunleavy explained with an incredible line on Tuesday night when speaking to reporters, the issue with trading Kuminga is finding a team that's interested. 

"I'm aware of that. In terms of demands, when you make a demand there needs to be demand -- on the market," Dunleavy said. "So, we'll see how that unfolds. But, heard. Always with these guys I tell them I'm willing to work with them, I wanna help people out, whether that's JK or any player on our roster. So, we're good with, if that's his wishes, trying to figure that out, but we gotta do what's best for our organization, and that's what we do.

"As far as the deadline coming up, we'll take the next couple weeks to assess this team a little more. I felt pretty good where we were at going into last night's game in terms of what we need to do. I thought our team was playing really well, heading in the right direction, obviously things have changed so I wanna take a couple weeks to watch these games and see our team and what we can do better." 

The major change Dunleavy referenced is Jimmy Butler's season-ending knee injury that throws a wrench in Golden State's plans to contend for a title this year. The Warriors had found a little something of late, going 7-2 prior to Butler's injury, and an 18-point loss to Toronto in their first game without Butler pointed to a harsh reality facing Golden State. 

How that impacts Kuminga trade talks isn't clear just yet. Kuminga did return to the rotation against Toronto in Butler's absence, scoring 20 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Perhaps it could lead Golden State to being more open to moving him for less, as they aren't likely a contender this year and could more easily pull the plug and shift focus to 2026-27. On the other hand, Kuminga has long been the potential prized trade chip on the Warriors roster, and they've rebuffed offers for so long it might be hard to end up taking even less for him. 

It certainly sounds like Dunleavy and the Warriors aren't in a rush to move Kuminga, and this saga might extend all the way to the deadline -- or worse, next summer.