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Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga is still available in restricted NBA free agency. However, the young wing is nowhere near a new deal with Golden State. Instead, the Warriors have explored sign-and-trades with other Western conference teams. The Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns have made contact, but their packages are not good enough.
According to ESPN's Anthony Slater, Golden State wants a first-round pick and a promising young star for Kuminga. Unfortunately, that kind of deal is not on the table. Kuminga is in no rush to hurry things along, confident that the situation will resolve itself eventually. At this point, the Kings are not willing to part with their young core, despite their desire to contend.
Slater said on The Hoop Collective that all of the moving parts of the situation are clashing with one another. That is the main reason a deal has not happened just yet.
“Part of the reason a sign and trade hasn’t gotten done for Kuminga,” Slater said. “Particularly the Kings and Suns I would say have been the most aggressive is because the Warriors have been pretty steadfast in their requirement of at least a first round pick. They also want a young player and they don't want to take on bad contracts. And that's what's really, you know, held a lot of this stuff up because it's like not only does the team have to want to sign Jonathan Kuminga, convince Jonathan Kuminga to take this dollar amount and he has high ambitions for his next contract, but also they then have to call the Warriors and, you know, basically make a pretty decent value trade where you're giving up a pick and a young player, that type of stuff.”
The Kings lack a player that fits the mold of what Golden State wants in return. Outside of Devin Booker or perhaps Ryan Dunn, the Suns fall short as well. If they can't make a deal, the Warriors could decide to hold on to Kuminga for a while. If they do, head coach Steve Kerr and the Golden State organization needs to value him more to build his trade value around the NBA.
