The future of Jonathan Kuminga in a Warriors uniform was uncertain before the start of the 2024-25 season — he failed to reach a contract extension with the team. It became even more uncertain at the first quarter point of the season.
Through the first 17 games of the 2024-25 NBA season, Jonathan Kuminga was fourth on the Warriors in scoring (13.3), sixth in minutes (22.7) and fourth in field goal attempts (10.9). Those numbers were all drastically down from the 2023-24 season when the Congolese native averaged 17.4 points after the All-Star break and was consistently the team’s third option on offense.
The word around the league is that Kuminga could be on the move before the February 6, 2025 trade deadline. In light of the reports, Sporting News’ Stephen Noh proposed a trade that would send Kuminga and De’Anthony Melton to the Raptors in exchange for unheralded big man Jakob Poeltl.
Warriors would get: Poeltl
Raptors would get: Kuminga, Melton
“Given how well the Warriors have played, it makes sense to be judicious about who they bring in if and when they trade Kuminga,” Noh wrote on November 22. “De’Anthony Melton is out for the year with an ACL injury. He could be combined with Kuminga to bring back a $20 million player like the Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl or the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic.”
Jakob Poeltl A Good Fit for Warriors?
The writer argued a Warriors trade for Poeltl would be easier to pull off than a move for a complex contract like Jimmy Butler.
“The Warriors could go for a much bigger name like Jimmy Butler, but it would take Andrew Wiggins and several other veterans to make the financials of that type of deal work. They would also need to throw in their future draft picks, of which they have two available to move. The options are open for the Warriors, but they have to act before the trade deadline. Kuminga’s value will continue to decline if Kerr keeps reducing his minutes, and this team is too good to wait for him any longer.”
The Lead’s Tye Hooker also argued that Poeltl, who’s averaging a career-high 16.2 points and 12.2 rebounds in the 2024-25 campaign, would be a perfect fit in Golden State.
Matter of Time Till Warriors Trade Kuminga?
“While the Raptors would likely have a high price tag on him, Poeltl could provide the Warriors with some much-needed height and floor-spacing ability within their rotation,” Hooker wrote on November 24. “If the Warriors want to find themselves a big man who could take their roster to the next level, bringing in a guy like Jakob Poeltl could be just the right move.”
In light of Kuminga’s diminishing role with the team, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported on November 1 that the fourth-year wing was highly expected to be moved before the February 6, 2025 trade deadline.
“Yet while rival executives believe the Warriors are more willing than ever to include Kuminga in a trade of significant magnitude, the fact remains that they’re setting their sights very high in terms of possible targets,” wrote Amick.
“One name to monitor is Jimmy Butler, the 35-year-old Miami Heat star who league sources say drew interest from the Warriors during the offseason and who did not come to terms on an extension. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.”
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