After losing in the Play-In Tournament, the Golden State Warriors could look to go all in for a new co-star to pair with Stephen Curry. Doric Sam of Bleacher Report proposed a trade to help them find that. The deal would send Jonathan Kuminga and more to the Los Angeles Clippers for Paul George.
Warriors would get: George
Clippers would get: Kuminga, Chris Paul, Trayce Jackson-Davis
“Trading George to another team in the Pacific Division likely would be detrimental to the Clippers’ chances of competing for a title in the near future, so the team would likely be seeking a substantial return.
“In negotiations with the Golden State Warriors, it can be expected that Los Angeles would not let George go without taking back some of Golden State’s most promising players,” Sam wrote on June 25. “Jonathan Kuminga has shown the potential of being a star player on both ends of the floor, and Trayce Jackson-Davis had flashes of being a productive big man in his rookie season.”
‘No Desire to Part With Kuminga’
If the Golden State Warriors are going to land a player of George’s caliber, it could require them to have to move Kuminga.
Kuminga, 21, showed growth in his third NBA season, averaging 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He nearly doubled his point total from the 2022-23 season, when he averaged 9.9 points per game.
While the Warriors could use other players to match salaries for a player in a trade, teams could look to land the potential star. However, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area, the Warriors aren’t interested in moving him.
“The Warriors have exhibited no desire to part with Kuminga, and their same intent has been applied to Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis,” Poole wrote on June 24.
The Warriors Have Interest in George
The Golden State Warriors’ interest in George was most recently reported by Marc Stein of Substack on June 24.
“I’m pretty sure that the Warriors are as interested in [Paul] George as the [New York] Knicks — maybe more,” Stein wrote.
With the New York Knicks trading many of their assets in a massive deal for Mikal Bridges on June 25, the likelihood of trading for Paul went down. However, the Knicks could make something work if they wanted to go down that path.
The Knicks landing Bridges is a positive sign for the Warriors in their pursuit of Paul, as it’s one less team they have to worry about.
George has a player option he could opt into and get traded, or he could hit free agency.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, George could be traded soon if he opts into his deal.
“He could opt into his contract and get traded by this weekend,” Windhorst said on “Get Up” on June 24.
“That is something that is going to come to a head in the next day or two if he wants to go with that option because, obviously, you’d have to negotiate a trade, and then the team wouldn’t necessarily need salary cap space. The Paul George sweepstakes is going to come to a head, at least that aspect of it, faster than those other players who are going to be free agents like Klay Thompson or DeMar DeRozan.”
If the Warriors are going to land the six-time All-NBA selection, it could be in the coming days.
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