Two days into the NBA Free Agency, there is still no resolution in sight for the awkward situation between the Golden State Warriors and their restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
But one potential sign-and-trade being floated is a Malik Monk-Kuminga swap, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.
“Sources say that Sacramento, meanwhile, would be interested in including Malik Monk in any outgoing trade package, but nothing substantial has materialized with the Warriors,” Fischer wrote on “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter on July 2.
The Kings are one of the four teams that have registered interest in Kuminga, according to Fischer. The other three teams are the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans and the Miami Heat.
But Fischer added that “pinpointing significant traction with any of them in these early stages of free agency has been difficult.”
Getty Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings is guarded by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Monk is entering Year 2 of his four-year, $78 million extension with the Kings. He was the runner-up to Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid for the Sixth Man of the Year award in the 2023-24 season.
Monk averaged a career-high 17.2 points last season as he stepped into the Kings’ starting lineup following De’Aaron Fox‘s departure to the San Antonio Spurs. The former Kentucky Wildcat made 2.1 3-pointers per game over his last two seasons in Sacramento.
Fischer added that Monk was expected earlier to go to Detroit in a sign-and-trade with one-time Warriors Dennis Schroder. But the Kings just directly signed Schroder to become their starting point guard while the Pistons moved on, signing Duncan Robinson to a free agent deal.
CBA Rule Complicates Jonathan Kuminga Sign-and-Trade
The Warriors and Kuminga face a serious challenge in finding him a new home. Anthony Slater of The Athletic illuminated the hurdles of a potential sign-and-trade deal for the Warriors forward, who wants to step into a bigger role next season.
“They haven’t really been close. There’s been no traction, and he’s going to explore the restrictive free agent market, with the Warriors understanding that they can look at various sign-and-trade scenarios. But there’s a lot of CBA mechanisms that make that really difficult. It’s called the base year compensation rule, which basically means the Warriors can only take back half of what they’re sending out. So, there’s a lot of complications here. But Jonathan Kuminga has high ambitions for himself,” Slater said on NBA TV’s “Free Agent Fever” on June 30.
“He wants to spread his wings, potentially be an All-Star. And the difficult challenge with him with the Warriors is that, in some ways, kind of blocked.”
Warriors Coach Non-Committal on Jonathan Kuminga’s Role
Kuminga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists during the 2024-25 regular season. But he showed his real potential when Stephen Curry got hurt in the playoffs.
The former No. 7 pick ended the season with a scoring flurry after averaging 24.3 points on 55.4% overall shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line in their playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves to show what he can do with the ball in his hands.
Despite his flashy performance, coach Steve Kerr remains non-committal on Kuminga’s role if he remains with the Warriors next season.
“I’ve been asked to win,” Kerr told The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” on Wednesday, 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.”
