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Is Jonathan Kuminga on the verge of being traded?
On December 22, the fourth-year Warriors forward posted a cryptic message on social media that hinted at his potential departure from the franchise.
Some fans perceived Kuminga’s peace sign emojis as a way for him to bid goodbye to the Warriors fanbase.
“peace out warriors? Looks like he’s being traded for Ingram,” wrote JBond.
Another fan opined that Kuminga became a victim of head coach Steve Kerr not trusting him completely.
“Aye man, Kerr didn’t do him right yes, but he also didn’t buy in at all…..like you can’t pout when you not willing to do the little things to win, when you still basically a puppy,” wrote Ya Mama.
Kuminga Preparing For Exit?
It should be noted that Kuminga’s post came less than 48 hours after he was called out by head coach Steve Kerr, albeit indirectly, after the Warriors’ 113-103 win over the Timberwolves. The game saw Kuminga getting benched in the final four minutes in favor of Gary Payton II. It was an unusual move since the Congolese forward had played in the team’s closing lineups earlier in the season,
After the game, Kerr blasted Kuminga and other youngsters on the team for selfishly looking for their shots instead of playing team basketball.
“When you have Steph Curry on your team, you pass the ball,” Kerr said, via CBS Sports’ Colin Ward-Henninger. “Because — pass it two or three times, the defense is scrambling, all hell breaks loose. So it’s a choice: We can either do that and win games, or we can shoot a whole bunch of 15-foot contested shots in the middle of the shot clock and be a lousy NBA team. It’s up to us, and we are hammering that point home with our team.”
Kerr similarly called out Brandin Podziemski, the Warriors’ other prized young star, earlier in the season.
Rumored Warriors Trade Targets
Kerr’s public criticism of Kuminga and Podz has led some to believe that the Warriors could move on from them.
According to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points, the Warriors are more willing to trade Kuminga and Podziemski after refusing to part with the youngsters in rumored trades for Paul George and Lauri Markkanen in the 2024 offseason.
“There is certainly more of a willingness to discuss their young core of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and Brandin Podziemski in trade discussions than ever before, sources said, opening several possibilities for how the Warriors could attack the trade deadline,” Siegel wrote.
The report mentioned Jimmy Butler, Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Kyle Kuzma, Nikola Vucevic, Jonas Valanciunas, Bruce Brown, Donte DiVincenzo, Matisse Thybulle, and De’Andre Hunter as players “on Golden State’s radar,” per sources.
Siegel added that Butler and Warriors “share a mutual interest” and could work with their representatives to make a trade happen before the February 6 deadline.
“The idea of Butler teaming up with Curry and Draymond Green makes sense in order for Golden State to make another serious title push, yet a trade would be complicated because Butler makes $48.7 million and the Warriors are hard-capped at the first apron,” Siegel wrote on December 20.
“Any deal to pursue Butler would result in the Warriors having to trade three or four different players for financial reasons, which then leaves them with no financial flexibility to fill out vacant roster spots left behind because of the hard cap.”
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