Jonathan Kuminga's time with the Golden State Warriors is about to come to an end. While Kuminga did re-sign with the Warriors this past offseason and appeared to have turned a corner to start the 2025-26 campaign, it's clear that he is not a fit under head coach Steve Kerr's system and that he'll never be. And with the Warriors forward about to be trade-eligible come the 15th of January next year, time is ticking on his tenure in the Bay.
Kuminga is one of the most polarizing players around the association. On one hand, there are many who have already soured on Kuminga. He doesn't provide much shooting and gravity off the bounce, he's not the best playmaker or ballhandler, nor has his game progressed to the point where he's now one of the better glue guys in the league.
But Kuminga is only 23 years of age and he still oozes potential. His athleticism is tantalizing, and he has the prototypical size for a wing in today's NBA. There are some coaches and developmental personnel around the league that would want to get a chance to work with Kuminga to try and mold him into the game-changing talent the Warriors have waited for him to become over the past five years.
To that end, here are some trade destinations that make sense for Kuminga as he tries to put this trying stint with the Warriors in the rearview mirror in hopes of fulfilling his ambitions with another team.
4. Chicago Bulls
There may not be a single team in the NBA playing worse basketball than the Bulls are now. They have been stuck in a rut as of late, and this could very well lead to them pivoting from their goal of achieving perpetual mediocrity towards actually bottoming out in hopes of acquiring a franchise cornerstone.
This is not to say that the Bulls don't have good players up and down the roster. Josh Giddey and Coby White are good players, while Matas Buzelis is emerging as a versatile two-way scoring wing. But perhaps adding Kuminga would at least give fans more to look forward to as well as someone they could look towards and make a crucial part of their offense.
Now, the Warriors could acquire someone like Nikola Vucevic or maybe a package centered around the likes of Isaac Okoro or even White in a Kuminga deal. The salary matches quite well, and those players would at least represent better fits in the Warriors' system than Kuminga does.
But the reason as to why the Bulls rank this low is that Kuminga's fit as a ball-dominant wing alongside someone like Giddey is iffy at best. Nonetheless, Chicago isn't exactly in a position to be picky about the players they can build around at the moment.
3. Utah Jazz
The Jazz are once again one of the worst teams in the league, and even head coach Will Hardy is being pushed to his limits by his squad's ineptitude. Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George are solid pieces to have around, but the team around them is sorely lacking in talent that they're surely going to be in for another painful campaign.
But the Jazz at least have more quality young pieces to have around that it makes sense for them to take a flier on Kuminga to see if he could make that leap once he takes on a higher-usage role.
Alas, Hardy may find Kuminga to be another head-scratching player to coach. Kuminga's consistency and effort wane, and for a Jazz team looking to establish winning habits, that simply won't do. Maybe a change of scenery would do wonders for Kuminga's motivation, but Hardy has to prepare himself if his team were to acquire the 23-year-old forward from the Warriors.
2. Sacramento Kings
It's no secret that the Kings are perhaps the most interested team in the league when it comes to trading for Kuminga. They were the team most prominently mentioned as a potential Kuminga destination during his restricted free agency, with the team reportedly interested in building an offer around Malik Monk to try and acquire him from the Warriors.
At the end of the day, Kuminga decided to return to the Warriors after the Dubs refused the Kings' advances. But with Sacramento going nowhere fast, perhaps they try to revisit their interest in the 23-year-old forward.
However, they might run into the same problems they did over the offseason. They simply may not be compatible trade partners. The Kings do not have anything the Warriors want, save for perhaps Keegan Murray, and there's no way Sacramento would want to trade him away.
But the Kings can give Kuminga the huge role he wants, and considering their interest in him, would give him as much leeway to develop as they can in the process of doing so.
1. Brooklyn Nets
There may not be a team in the league that currently needs more talent infusion than the Nets do. They have Michael Porter Jr. as their star, which is concerning in and of itself, but the rest of the team around him just screams future role players. Cam Thomas is on a one-year deal. Noah Clowney is good, but he is not ascending in a star-like trajectory. Nic Claxton is a solid starting center.
But the Nets, despite having so many lottery picks in recent years, don't seem to have their franchise cornerstone quite yet. Egor Demin could get there one day, and the jury's not yet out on Ben Saraf or Nolan Traore considering that they're rookies. However, they can certainly package some of the players they have to try and acquire someone like Kuminga, who could break out in post-hype fashion.
The Warriors could acquire the likes of Terance Mann, Clowney, or even Claxton in a Kuminga trade. Maybe the Dubs would want Porter in exchange. Brooklyn also has all the cap space and draft picks in the world, so they can certainly take on Kuminga's contract. And they'll be able to give him the runway he needs to emerge as a star in the NBA.
