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Sam Amick on Kings trade chatter as the trade deadline nears

The NBA trade deadline is just two weeks away, and decision time is near for the Sacramento Kings.

As the February 5th deadline nears, trade rumors and chatter surrounding the Kings continue to get louder, especially surrounding Sacramento’s longstanding interest in Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga.

After losing star forward Jimmy Butler (torn ACL) for the season, all eyes have shifted to Kuminga, who played in his first game action in over a month on Tuesday night.

Sacramento has been linked to the 23-year-old forward since the offseason, where they attempted to strike a sign-and-trade deal with the Warriors that would have landed them Jonathan Kuminga and sent guard Malik Monk (along with a protected first-round pick) to Golden State.

The Kings are no longer looking to part with a first-round pick for Jonathan Kuminga, whose deteriorating relationship with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had caused him to fall completely out of Golden State’s rotation both at the end of last season and thus far in 2025-26.

With Jonathan Kuminga’s value at an all-time low, it seemed as if the Warriors would be heading into the February 5th NBA trade deadline looking to swap the forward’s $22.5 million salary for the best option available–but Sacramento Kings wing DeMar DeRozan doesn’t appear to be on Golden State’s radar.

The Athletic‘s Sam Amick joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Thursday to share his thoughts on the Kuminga saga, sharing that a DeRozan-Kuminga swap doesn’t appear to be on the table.

“The immediate feedback was ‘yeah, probably not.’ It was more on the DeMar side that that was not necessarily seen as a good fit. I don’t know if the Warriors know what they’re going to do,” Amick said when asked about a DeRozan-Kuminga possibility.

If one thing is certain, it’s that Kuminga’s days in a Warriors jersey are numbered.

Kuminga’s long-standing feud with Kerr, paired with Golden State’s urgency to win during Stephen Curry’s final years of his career, makes it likely we see the former top-ten pick moved in the coming weeks.

“He definitely doesn’t want to be playing there,” Amick said of Kuminga and the Warriors.

Sacramento will surely continue to show interest in trading for Kuminga until the deadline passes, with general manager Scott Perry at the forefront of those trade talks.

According to Amick, the Sacramento Kings and Kuminga had a path to a deal in restricted free agency for $15 million per season, but the forward chose to sign for more money (two years, $48.5 million) following a lengthy staredown with Golden State.

“He had an avenue to come join the Kings for less money last summer,” Amick said. ” That deal would have likely gotten done. You still willfully chose to go back to an organization that wasn’t really that excited about your basketball contributions and shouldn’t be shocked that this is the way it has gone.”

Check out the full interview with The Athletic’s Sam Amick by scrolling to the top of the page or by clicking here.

Listen to The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross from 6 – 10 a.m. PST, Monday through Friday, on Sactown Sports 1140.

Click here for full episodes of The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross

More Sacramento Kings content from Sactown Sports

As the Sacramento Kings move closer to the upcoming NBA trade deadline, the future of star center Domantas Sabonis has come into question.

Sabonis, who missed 27 games due to a partial tear of the meniscus in his left knee, has come off the bench and averaged just 19.3 minutes per game over three appearances.

The veteran big man may be currently getting his feet back under him after missing an extended period, but head coach Doug Christie told the media that he is prioritizing defense and energy during the closing portion of games.

“There’s a standard that we want to play to, and we watch certain moments toward the end, or in certain moments, we’re just trying to make sure we’re winning the game,” Christie said.