After months, even years, of an uncertain future with the Golden State Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga expects, and wants, to be traded before the upcoming February 5th trade deadline in a saga and story that has taken over the team and the NBA as a whole.
However, while Kuminga’s future with the team has yet to be fully decided on, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr doesn’t think the mass trade rumors surrounding the 23-year-old’s name will be a distraction for Golden State over the next few weeks.
Speaking after their win over the New York Knicks, Kerr said in his postgame press conference that Kuminga has handled the entire situation well, and though nobody has direct, or at least public, knowledge of when he’ll be traded, his uncertain future won’t affect the team going forward.
“It won’t be a distraction,” Kerr said. “Jonathan’s a great young guy. His teammates like him. He’s handling himself well. There won’t be a distraction.”
The documented relationship between the Warriors’ head coach and Kuminga hasn’t been great over the past few months, ever since he signed an extension to return to the Bay Area over the summer. Kerr hasn’t played Kuminga in over a month, and while citing not a great fit within their current rotation, all indications point to his DNP’s as a result of an impending trade.
Steve Kerr, Warriors Players Speak On Jonathan Kuminga
Amid all the trade rumors and reports, Kerr has stayed firm that he doesn’t believe Kuminga fits well on the Warriors’ current roster. While he has cited the wing taking the consistent benching in stride, there has clearly been a rift between the two for some time now.
“Our relationship is fine,” Kerr added, according to The Athletic. “There’s not a whole lot I can say about the other stuff. Just is what it is, a difficult situation for everybody. Part of this league, part of the job. So we just keep moving forward, but tough situation. I don’t really have much to add.”
Kuminga last played on December 18th, and in the year has only put up averages of 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 43.1% shooting in 18 games, all of which are down from last year.
“So for all our young guys, not just JK, I talk about that a lot, that you always just want to put yourself in the best position to be ready for the opportunity when it comes,” Kerr said. “Sometimes it’s gonna come and sometimes it’s not and you just have to be prepared for all of that.”
While his impending trade status, as well as the package Golden State could get back for the 23-year-old, remain one of the biggest storylines in the NBA, franchise centerpiece Stephen Curry, like Kerr, doesn’t think the situation or the player will be a distraction.
Both Curry and Draymond Green said that didn’t think Kuminga and his situation will be a distraction for the team, so long as he continues to handle things how he has so far.
Kuminga himself hasn’t addressed the media in two weeks, and when he did in the past, he remained rather mum on his status and future on the team. Yet still, that didn’t stop Jimmy Butler from praising him amid all the speculation.
“We love JK in this locker room. That’s not gonna change. If he happens to not be in here, we still rock with JK. I speak for everybody. I don’t care, I speak for everybody,” Butler said. “We love the guy. I wish him the best here, I wish him the best wherever. Doesn’t change. We don’t listen to the noise, I hope he don’t listen to the noise. He keep coming in here with a smile, doing what he’s supposed to do and being the ultimate pro.”
While they might not see him as a distraction right now, that could very well change as the days count down to the February 5th trade deadline.
Jonathan Kuminga Trade Rumors
Several teams have been linked to Kuminga in trade rumors over the past few months, and specifically in the past few weeks, now that he is eligible to be moved.
While the Sacramento Kings could likely still be the most interested, the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers have shown interest in the wing player.
The Kings could likely offer up Keon Ellis and Malik Monk for Kuminga, but according to insider Jake Fischer, Golden State isn’t interested in the latter. In a move that has a better chance to put the Warriors in title contention, they’ve been eyeing Trey Murphy from New Orleans, but the asking price for him might be too high, considering the Warriors would likely have to give up Kuminga and a few other assets for the 3-and-D star.
In a deal with the Lakers, Golden State probably wouldn’t get back anything that would vault them into title contention. It feels nearly impossible that Los Angeles would trade Austin Reaves for Kuminga, and while they could send out Rui Hachimura, that hasn’t been the type of player the Warriors have been eyeing over the past few months.
Though initially intriguing, a deal sending Kuminga to the Brooklyn Nets for Michael Porter Jr. now appears off the table, considering his drastic performance improvement this season.
The Warriors have consistently said they have no plans of trading either Butler or Green, and with each on a relatively large contract, that puts them in a major bind regarding trade deadline additions.
It’s hard to gauge Kuminga’s current trade value considering Kerr has left him on the bench for the past month, but all signs point to Golden State continuing to scour the trade market for the best deal possible.
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