Jonathan Kuminga’s four years with the Golden State Warriors have not gone as smoothly as anyone involved hoped. Kuminga was one of the centerpieces of the “two timelines” plan (along with former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman). While he has shown flashes of brilliance, they are inconsistent.
Neither the team nor the player seem happy with the arrangement, which is why there’s an expectation that Golden State will look to find a sign-and-trade for Kuminga to bring back some veteran help for Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. On Monday, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that two teams “worth monitoring” in Kuminga sign-and-trade talks are the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.
There was scuttle going into the trade deadline that the Warriors and Bulls discussed trades to send center Nikola Vučević to the Bay, and those talks could get reignited around a Kuminga sign-and-trade. The Heat, meanwhile, could send Andrew Wiggins back to Golden State after acquiring him in the Jimmy Butler trade, but Scotto notes they will focus their efforts on Kevin Durant (and Giannis Antetokounmpo, if he changes course and becomes available) first.
Figuring out Kuminga’s market, both in terms of what kind of contract to give him and what value he has on the sign-and-trade market, is complicated. There are competing schools of thought as to why Kuminga hasn’t found his footing with the Warriors. Steve Kerr and the Warriors coaching staff would point to his lapses as the reason they can’t trust Kuminga to make the right plays and stay engaged on both ends of the floor when he’s not a focal point. That’s limited his minutes and saw him fall completely out of the rotation this postseason until Stephen Curry’s injury thrust him back into the lineup.
However, when he got that opportunity, he played well, averaging 24.3 points per game in his final four appearances for the Warriors in their second round loss to the Timberwolves. Kuminga would point to that run as evidence that he’s not being utilized properly, and it’s a matter of situation and being asked to play a role beneath him that keeps him from thriving.
Any team committing what will likely be a nine-figure salary to Kuminga will have to believe the latter is true and be prepared to give him a sizable role. Both Miami and Chicago could do that in their current state.
Possibility also exists that the Warriors think there’s more to be gained from trading Kuminga later, or that under Jimmy Butler’s tutelage he can eventually take on a larger role in the future. If they don’t get the kinds of offers they want for him, they could simply re-sign him and continue this saga for another year or more.
