The Golden State Warriors have valued Jonathan Kuminga highly since drafting him with the No. 5 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. In the years since, The team has protected Kuminga in trade talks over the last few years but his continued unspectacular performances this season have made his name come up in rumors even more.
Amidst speculation about his future, Kuminga made a cryptic post on Instagram with various pictures in which he flashes the peace emoji in the caption.
You could write it off as just a way to be clever in a caption, but Kuminga regularly posts these photo dumps and usually doesn’t add anything in the caption except #JustKnow.
The fact that he’s done so right now has prompted fans to believe he might be on the way out or at least been informed that he might be used in trades closer to the deadline after being regarded as untouchable.
Kuminga has shown flashes of his All-Star talent but has struggled to find consistency, which in turn hurts the minutes he gets on the win-now Warriors. He’s averaging 15.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists this season, fluctuating between the starting lineup and the bench, not finding a spot where he can thrive to his fullest.
Kuminga has clear potential as a dominant two-way forward in the NBA, but that potential might not be realized as a member of the Warriors.
He will always have to fit the mold the Warriors want him to fit to ensure he fits well alongside players like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. He could be a future franchise star, but he hasn’t shown that in his four-and-a-half seasons with the franchise.
If the Warriors can’t extract that potential, they have to cash in on it while he has value, as Kuminga becomes a free agent next summer with a wildly uncertain market.
Warriors Refused To Trade Kuminga For Cam Johnson
The Warriors recently acquired Dennis Schroder from the Brooklyn Nets to reinforce the team’s guard depth. The Nets are expected to be selling their high-performing players for future assets, with forward Cam Johnson considered to be in high demand by teams around the league, including the Warriors.
When the Warriors agreed upon the Schroder deal, they could’ve expanded it to include Cam Johnson, but only on the condition that the Warriors give up Kuminga.
Naturally, this hasn’t happened, which many assumed was a vote of confidence in Kuminga. However, I think it might protect an asset like that for a bigger deal with a higher upside.
It could be a potential Jimmy Butler acquisition or someone better than Johnson, who hasn’t ever been a 20-point scorer on a team and would be a complementary piece to Curry, not a co-star.
Even with his impending free agency, Kuminga should have a robust trade market because a rebuilding team could acquire him, develop him, and most likely sign him to a contract less than the max in the summer to put themselves in a great position to contend if Kuminga’s value can be realized.
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