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The Golden State Warriors would appear to like nothing more than to trade Jonathan Kuminga and end the lengthy saga of his tumultuous few years with the franchise.
However, while the team does still seem keen on trading the forward for a meaningful piece that could help bolster their title hopes, that might not be the easiest thing in the world, especially considering the latest report on the 23-year-old.
According to a recent article by Zach Buckley on Bleacher Report, Kuminga was named as one of the most overrated players in the NBA.
“You almost want to argue he’s young and could thrive in a more developmentally-focused environment,” Buckley wrote. “But then you remember this is his fifth season in the NBA and he has more than 6,000 minutes under his belt. He might have more to offer, but he’s almost treated as if he’s a totally raw, tools-y teenager who has barely ever stepped between the lines.”
While Kuminga was previously on a rookie deal, he signed a two-year, $48.5 million extension with the team over the offseason. But even when that contract was signed, there was an expectation that he’d be moved before the February 5th trade deadline, something that has only appeared more and more likely as the season has gone on.
Jonathan Kuminga Trade Value Dropping
Buckley was blunt when discussing how the contract Kuminga signed over the summer now seems like an extreme overpay. Golden State wanted to send him out in a sign-and-trade before the season started. Still, after a long stalemate with the forward’s representation, that never happened, and he returned to the Warriors in an even worse situation than when the offseason began.
But through 36 games so far this year, Kuminga’s contract has been even worse than the Bay Area brass expected. With only 18 appearances this season, he is averaging 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 43.1% shooting. Along with being left out of head coach Steve Kerr’s lineup on a number of occasions, Kuminga is also currently injured with a back injury he suffered before the team’s recent game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
However you look at it, Kuminga isn’t the player Golden State hoped, or wants anymore. Teams have expressed interest in him, but as Buckley wrote, if the Warriors, a team that needs all the help they can get right now, don’t even want him, why would that be different for another franchise?
“Clubs like the Mavericks, Kings and Bulls have been connected to him,” Buckley wrote. “The question is—to be entirely blunt—why? His athleticism is special, sure, and he’s known to binge on buckets from time to time, but what beyond streak-scoring would you call a defined strength of his? There’s almost zero separation between his career averages in assists (1.8) and turnovers (1.5). His defense has never reached the level his physical tools say it should be.”
Kuminga can’t be traded until January 15th, but at this point, his trade value has dropped immensely compared to if the Warriors dealt him before the season began.
Warriors Get Bad News On Potential Trade Targets
At the same time that Kuminga’s trade value appears to be falling off a cliff, the Warriors might have trouble sending him out for a player they can bring in to impact winning for the rest of the season.
According to league insider Marc Stein, two of Golden State’s top trade hopefuls seem not be on the market anymore.
“The Pelicans are still resistant to trade interest in both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III,” Stein wrote in his Substack, The Stein Line.
Last month, NBA insider Brian Windhorst wrote that he believed that a player like one of the two Pelicans wings would be the exact players the Warriors would be looking for in a deal. However, with New Orleans’ reluctance to listen to trade calls, topped with Kuminga’s dropping trade value, a deal adding either Jones or Murphy now seems unlikely.
While Golden State is still calling teams around the league in hopes of making a trade once January 15th rolls around, its potential return seems to be diminishing as the days go on. Kuminga hasn’t suited up for a game in more than two weeks, and at this point, it’s hard to say what the Warriors could get for a player making nearly $25 million a year that they aren’t even playing on a nightly basis.