With Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr publicly saying that Jonathan Kuminga‘s role will not change if he returns next season, the writing’s on the wall for the former No. 7 pick.
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 had gone on a two-day media interview, essentially saying the same thing about Kuminga.
“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.”
Barely 24 hours later, 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.”
Jonathan Kuminga has Untapped Potential
Kuminga has been a polarizing player in his first four years in Golden State. He’s been a lightning rod that has spawned debates among their fan base.
The athletic forward showed flashes of his untapped potential when he was unleashed in the final four games of their second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He averaged 24.3 points on 55.4% overall shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line during that stretch.
Despite those gaudy numbers, the Warriors lost all those games. And Kuminga only played because Curry was unavailable with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain.
The Warriors have the leverage to re-sign Kuminga in the offseason as only the Brooklyn Nets have the big cap room to throw a large offer sheet at him that could be hard to match. But it will do no good for his stagnant career to stay in Golden State and become a situational player.
Sign-and-Trade Scenario
Pelton floated a potential sign-and-trade scenario wherein they could land their previous target, Chicago Bulls veteran center Nikola Vučević.
“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.
The Warriors previously held interest in the Bulls’ two-time All-Star center.
They were “at the front of the line” in the weeks leading to the trade deadline for Vučević with the Bulls looking for a first-round pick in return, NBA insider Marc Stein reported in January. But the Warriors balked at the cost.
They could revisit that trade interest with Kuminga as possible trade bait.
