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The Golden State Warriors are on the clock as it relates to a Jonathan Kuminga trade, and while the official date by which he can be dealt is still more than a week away, the Bay Area franchise appears ready to cut ties with the 23-year-old wing.
At the same time that the Warriors have reportedly been in talks with teams around the league for a trade that sends Kuminga out, they’ll also been one of the most mentioned teams as it relates to one of the biggest names on the 2026 trade market.
Golden State has been interested in a deal for Michael Porter Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets, a player who, after being sent to the East Coast over the summer by the Denver Nuggets, is having a career year with averages of 25.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 49.5% shooting in 27 games.
While his $179 million contract might not be the easiest to trade for, NBA insider and reporter Sam Quinn of CBS Sports believes there is a not-too-unlikely world in which the Warriors make the swap, sending Kuminga out for Porter before the February 5th trade deadline.
Warriors Predicted To Trade Kuminga For Michael Porter Jr.
In a recent article by Quinn on some of his predictions for the upcoming trade deadline, he wrote that he believes Porter will end up in Golden State, while Kuminga will finally find a new home in Brooklyn.
“Porter is one of the more interesting trade candidates of the season. His injury history and relatively newfound stardom make him a high-risk addition. But shooting and size are prized traits, and Porter has both,” Quinn wrote on Porter as a trade asset. “Ultimately, the winning bidder is going to be the most desperate one… [Other teams are] unlikely to offer more than a team like Golden State, desperate to cling onto whatever scraps of contention it can in Stephen Curry‘s golden years.”
“Yeah, I love it here, so whatever team wants and appreciates what I bring to the table, then that’s where I want to be. And I feel like they do here… like I said, if they want me here, I’d love to be here.”
The price for Porter isn’t going to be cheap, as seen with both his contract and his play for the Nets this season. However, as Quinn mentioned, there aren’t a ton of teams across the league that are more desperate than the fading Warriors.
At the same time, they’ll likely need to include more than just Kuminga in a deal for the Brooklyn forward, making $38 million this season, meaning draft assets and a few other players in a potential deal like this are almost guaranteed for the Nets.
“For what it’s worth, Kuminga would fit a trend in Brooklyn. A lot of forwards lately have landed with the Nets as, for lack of a better way of putting this, collateral damage,” Quinn wrote on the idea of Kuminga being sent out East. “He wants to go to a team that will let him shoot and explore his offensive skill set. The Nets have a real track record of doing so.”
Warriors Urged To Play Kuminga Amid Dropping Trade Value
At the same time that the Warriors have made it clear they are looking for a new home for Kuminga, they haven’t done him any favors. The wing player hasn’t suited up in more than two weeks, and while that is partially due to health concerns, head coach Steve Kerr has intentionally kept him out of the lineup on numerous occasions this season.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report, Kuminga was named one of the most overrated players in the NBA, based on his contract and uncertain future with the team. However, he hasn’t been given a real opportunity this season to prove his value, playing in an average of 24.8 minutes in just 18 games.
In the latest episode of Run It Back on FanDuel TV, former NBA player Chandler Parsons urged Kerr and the Warriors to play Kuminga, regardless of whether he’ll be traded in the next few weeks or not.
“The Warriors are not winning without Jonathan Kuminga. What’s the worst that can happen if they play him?” Parsons asked. “I get his game, his fit, and everything, but he deserves to be on the floor.”
If Golden State expects to get a game-changing player in return for Kuminga, as mentioned by Parsons, they aren’t doing themselves any favors by leaving him on the bench while they fight to keep their record above .500.