Every season there’s at least one rumor involving the Kings that never seems to go away. This year, that rumor is Jonathan Kuminga, who becomes trade eligible on January 15th.
According to a recent NBC Sports Bay Area report, the Warriors still haven’t found much of a trade market for Kuminga. In fact, according to reporter Monte Poole, the Kings are the only NBA team that has shown a serious interest in acquiring Kuminga, with interest dating back to the offseason as the Kings attempted to acquire him in a sign-and-trade. At the time the Warriors weren’t interested in what the Kings were selling, but now that Kuminga clearly seems to be out of the rotation and the Warriors not as competitive as they had hoped, maybe Sacramento’s trade package looks more appealing.
From a Kings perspective, the Kuminga appeal is obvious. The Kings could absolutely use another athletic wing with size, defensive upside, and some transition juice. Those players are expensive when they’re fully formed, so the idea of getting one before the breakout is naturally enticing. Kuminga checks a lot of theoretical boxes. He’s young. He’s got the size to defend multiple positions (ability and effort maybe not so much just yet). He can run the floor. And when he’s actually getting minutes, he’s shown flashes of being a solid contributor, especially on offense.
Sacramento’s supposed offer in the offseason was reportedly Malik Monk and a protected first round pick. Now, according to Sam Amick’s latest report, while the Kings still have a ton of interest, that 2030 pick is off the table. That makes sense given that the Warriors have now lost quite a bit of leverage in the matter thanks to the clear friction between both Kuminga and the Warriors. However, Amick once again notes that the Warriors don’t view the Kings veterans as appealing options either, so a third team may have to be involved for any deal to get done. Or perhaps the Kings would now be willing to include Keon Ellis in a deal as a sweetener. Scott Perry has publicly said that he’s a big Keon Ellis fan, but Ellis hasn’t had a consistent role this season either, and will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason if an extension isn’t done before the end of the season.
The Warriors say they’re willing to hold onto Kuminga past the February 5th deadline, but I think that’s all just a front to avoid giving up what little leverage they have. Both sides clearly want to move on, and now it’s simply a matter of finding a deal for both teams that makes sense. Maybe the two teams talk again when they face off tonight.