The Golden State Warriors continue to have the leverage on restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga based on the latest intel.
According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Brooklyn Nets, who are projected to have the most cap room this summer, are not expected to throw a large offer sheet at Kuminga that will force the Warriors’ hand. But there’s a caveat.
“There is not a current expectation that the Brooklyn Nets are preparing an offer sheet for Kuminga, but there are signs Brooklyn could be willing to use its open cap space as a vehicle to execute multi-team trade scenarios this summer, league sources said,” Slater wrote. “That could open up several avenues and possible suitors for Kuminga, one of the market’s most intriguing names.”
The 22-year-old Kuminga has the talent but doesn’t fit the Warriors’ current timeline, which complicates his situation.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr has been open about this unfortunate Kuminga situation.
“I’ve been asked to win,” Kerr told The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” on May 21. “And right now, he’s not a guy who I can say, I’m going to play 38 minutes with the roster we have, Steph [Curry], Jimmy [Butler], and Draymond [Green], and put the puzzle together that way and expect to win.”
If their stars are healthy, Kuminga is the ninth or 10th man in Kerr’s rotation.
But Kerr also offered a glimmer of hope for Kuminga should he return next season.
“If JK comes back, we will for sure spend the early part of the season playing him with Jimmy, Draymond, Steph,” Kerr said. “To me, that would be a no-brainer. We didn’t have that luxury this (past) year.”
‘Best Outcome’ for Jonathan Kuminga
An NBA scout urged the Warriors’ restricted free agent to get out of Golden State this summer to realize his potential elsewhere.
“The best thing that happens to him is if they sign-and-trade him,” one scout told ESPN’s Kevin Pelton.
Kerr hinted that Kuminga also wants no part of this roller-coaster ride in Golden State.
“I think the number one thing is that, JK and I have a very good relationship,” Kerr said on “Willard and Dibs” on 95.7 The Game on May 22. “We talk all the time. We like each other. This is all just basketball. This is not a case of JK coming in saying, ‘Hey, I got to get out of here.’ I want this. I want that.
“This is just trying to make this fit and trying to make this work. But every player, every young player, even the older guys, they want to fit in well with what’s happening.
“And so I think there’s got to be part of JK that thinks about going elsewhere.”
Potential Landing Spot in Sign-and-Trade Scenario
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesThe proposed trade lands Jonathan Kuminga with the Chicago Bulls
If the Nets do not want Kuminga, will there be another team who have no cap room that will be interested in a sign-and-trade for the former lottery pick?
Pelton sees the Chicago Bulls as a potential landing spot for Kuminga. The Bulls made the same gamble on Josh Giddey last offseason. They could do the same by parlaying veteran center Nikola Vučevic‘s expiring contract into another young talent with untapped potential.
“The Bulls could try to put together a sign-and-trade, perhaps sending Nikola Vucevic to the Warriors and placing Kuminga in a role similar to the one DeMar DeRozan once played in the Windy City,” Pelton wrote.
Vučevic fits the Warriors’ win-now timeline, but is he worth the Warriors’ biggest trade chip this offseason?
Warriors Get Good News on Jonathan Kuminga Ahead of Big Decision