Warriors Trade Pitch Sends Jonathan Kuminga Out East

Getty Jonathan Kuminga maintains focus amid uncertain future with Golden State Warriors.

Through the first 12 games of the 2024-25 NBA season, Jonathan Kuminga was sixth on the Warriors in minutes (23.8), fourth in points (14.2) and fourth in field goal attempts (11.3). Those numbers were all down from the 2023-24 season when Kuminga was the Warriors’ third-leading points scorer behind only Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

The dip in numbers came after Kuminga and the Warriors failed to agree to a contract extension before the season. As such, many insiders felt the writing was on the wall for Golden State to ship off the Congolese forward before the February trade deadline or perhaps at some point during the 2025 offseason.

In light of those reports, Hoops Habit’s Cal Durrett proposed a trade that would send Kuminga to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a haul of young players and draft assets.

Warriors would get: Kenyon Martin Jr., two first-round picks

76ers would get: Kuminga

Durrett’s trade proposal came after reports surfaced of the Sixers showing interest in acquiring Kuminga from Golden State.

“Kuminga doesn’t appear to have a long-term role with the Warriors and they failed to agree to a contract extension with him,” Durrett wrote on November 17. “That means that he will enter restricted free agency next summer and the Warriors could easily lose him if they aren’t willing to pay him.”

Warriors Trade Assets Can Land Big Fish

One of the advantages of the Warriors going through with the aforementioned trade pitch is they can flip the returning first-round picks from the Sixers for a bigger piece such as Giannis Antetokounmpo or another big star who could become available.

The Warriors have long coveted Antetokounmpo as the perfect co-star to pair next to Curry. According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, Curry and Antetokounmpo’s off-court business relationship could lead to an eventual pairing in a Warriors unfirom.

“The other big connection here to keep an eye on, is the fact that Giannis and Steph [Curry] are both represented by the same agency – Octagon,” Fischer said on November 11. “…We’ve seen these types of synergies make deals happen.”

Fischer cited the example of the Knicks landing Karl-Anthony Towns in the 2024 offseason due to the sharpshooting center being a CAA client. It’s no secret that many of the Knicks players are represented by the same agency.

Kuminga Being a Team Player

Despite being relegated to a bench role at the start of the 2024-25 season, Kuminga did not butt heads with head coach Steve Kerr or express unhappiness. That wasn’t the case in the 2023-24 season when Kuminga, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater, “lost faith” in Kerr and felt the coach wouldn’t “allow him to reach his full potential.”

After Kuminga was first benched against the Pelicans on October 29, he made it clear that he plans to be a professional and perform whatever role expected of him.

“It wasn’t my decision. I got a text, this is how it’s going to go, this is who it’s going to be, and I went with it,” Kuminga said, via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. “What am I supposed to do … ask why am I not starting? This is the decision of the coach, and we will follow what he’s going to do. At the end of the day, I’m still a professional. I’m going to do what I’ve got to do.”

Although Kuminga has remained a consummate professional, many NBA insiders expect him to be one of the top trade targets for teams ahead of the February 2025 deadline. The Athletic’s Sam Amick and John Hollinger reported on November 1 that teams around the league were keen to explore a Warriors trade involving Kuminga.

“Yet while rival executives believe the Warriors are more willing than ever to include Kuminga in a trade of significant magnitude, the fact remains that they’re setting their sights very high in terms of possible targets,” Amick wrote.