The Golden State Warriors are in a tricky situation regarding forward Jonathan Kuminga. Being thrown into many trade rumors, it appears that the Warriors would prefer to keep their promising young forward instead of trading him away.
Kuminga is currently a restricted free agent, and could be looking for a new opportunity on a different team due to inconsistent playing time in Golden State. However, the Warriors aren’t just going to let Kuminga walk for nothing after using a first-round pick on him four years ago.
According to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points, the Warriors have essentially cut off all sign-and-trade talks for Kuminga after receiving underwhelming offers from the Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns.
“Not enough value has presented itself to the Warriors for them to move off Kuminga,” Siegel said. “Which is why they want him back on a short-term deal.”
Kuminga has shown plenty of potential during his NBA career since being drafted in 2021 by the Warriors. He averaged 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in the 2023-24 season, and this past season averaged 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per night. Despite the positive trajectory, Kuminga hasn’t gotten the trust of head coach Steve Kerr, leading to inconsistent minutes, and underwhelming production.
While Kuminga likely isn’t super thrilled with the idea of returning to the Warriors, his options are starting to run thin, and he may be left with no choice but to come back to the team that drafted him on a shorter deal.
