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The Sacramento Kings reportedly have a new three-and-D wing.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Saturday that the Kings acquired De’Andre Hunter from the Cavaliers for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis in a three-team trade.
It’s entirely possible that the Kings simply love Hunter and plan to keep him. Kings insider James Ham reported that Sacramento is excited about pairing Hunter with Keegan Murray, which I have no reason to dispute.
But don’t be shocked if the Kings reroute Hunter for Jonathan Kuminga before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
We know the Warriors won’t trade Kuminga until they know they can’t win the Giannis Antetokounmpo this trade season.
But if Antetokounmpo gets dealt elsewhere, the Warriors will have to pivot.
Earlier on Saturday, The Stein Line’s Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported the Warriors were interested in Hunter.
We know the Kings have been interested in Kuminga for months. Hunter is the more established player now, but there’s almost no chance the 28-year-old takes a leap. At his best, he’ll be a decent three-and-D role player.
Meanwhile, Kuminga is just 23. He could be something more than a role player if given an expanded role, and with the Kings in a total rebuild, they are perfectly positioned to play him enough to find out.
The contracts of Kuminga and Hunter almost match. The Warriors would have to attach one more small contract—for example, Trayce Jackson-Davis’ or Gary Payton II’s—and the trade would be set from a money perspective. Perhaps the Kings would ask for a protected first-round pick as well, but it’s not clear if that would be necessary to get this across the finish line.
To be clear, Hunter is not good enough to change the Warriors’ fortunes this season. He’s averaging 14.0 points per game and struggling from three at 30.8 percent, though he’ll likely regress to the mean for the rest of the season, as his career average is 36.5 percent.
But Hunter is under contract for next season as well, and the Warriors were short a three-and-D wing even before Jimmy Butler got hurt.
Of course Trey Murphy III or Michael Porter Jr. would be much bigger ceiling raisers, but Golden State’s front office might not be willing to meet the asking price of either. The Warriors would probably prefer to trade for Andrew Wiggins, but he might not be attainable.
Hunter would be a decent consolation prize.
He’d probably start for the rest of this season, and he’d be a key rotation piece when Butler returns.
Perhaps best of all, the Warriors would finally move on from the Kuminga drama. Both sides are way past the need for a change, and perhaps the Kings’ trade for Hunter provides a sensible end.