Warriors may cut ties with disgruntled 6-foot-8 wing via trade to Western Conference foe originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Outside distractions could severely hamper an NBA team’s ability to seriously contend for a championship, and the Golden State Warriors’ front office will aim to prevent any noise from throwing their aging core of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green off course.
After a long and puzzling restricted free agency stand-off with the Warriors, their 23-year-old combo-forward Jonathan Kuminga agreed to re-join the team on a two-year contract, ending a large distraction for the time being.
Unfortunately, Kuminga’s offseason spectacle is likely to bleed into Golden State’s regular season, making it imperative that the franchise finds a trade destination for the explosive wing.
In fact, one NBA writer has hypothesized that the Warriors could trade their former No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to a fellow Pacific division squad looking to break through to the NBA Finals with an unconventional roster makeup.
“The Los Angeles Clippers are the oldest team in the NBA (28.4 average age) and desperately need some young talent to sprinkle in with all of its veterans,” Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz wrote Tuesday.
“Jonathan Kuminga, 22, just signed a two-year, $46.8 million contract with the Golden State Warriors but likely isn’t long for the franchise. A fresh start with the Clippers could be just what Kuminga needs to spread his wings.”
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“With reports that Los Angeles is done building around Kawhi Leonard, Kuminga could learn from the two-time Finals MVP now and become a pillar for the Clippers over the next decade.”
An NBA champion in his own right as a member of the Warriors’ 2022 title team, it could make sense that Kuminga might be a plausible target for the aging Los Angeles Clippers throughout the 2025-26 campaign.
With Kuminga already heading into his fifth NBA season, the Clippers may consider welcoming in the high-flying youngster to lead the franchise into their post-Kawhi Leonard, post-James Harden future.
In return for Golden State, it’s possible that a package consisting of either veteran forward Derrick Jones Jr. or the $16 million salary of Bogdan Bogdanovic and draft capital as a starting point might be enough to get a dialogue started.
Regardless, the Warriors’ general manager Mike Dunleavy will likely be scouring the trade market for a way to ship Kuminga to a desired destination while also making sure to receive an important potential cog in Golden State’s vaunted offensive system.
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