Will the Golden State Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga ever land on the same page?
Most likely, but it will require patience from both parties.
Last Tuesday, Sactown Sports 1140’s Allen Stiles elected to weigh in on the hot topic, suggesting that swapping Kuminga for a Los Angeles Lakers outcast should be viewed as a viable option for the franchise.
“It is safe to say that the Sacramento Kings do believe, or at least they hope that’s going to be the case,” Stiles stated.
“That Jonathan Kuminga will continue to say, ‘I’m going to sign that qualifying offer.’ And at the buzzer, the Golden State Warriors will say, ‘Alright, well, we can’t afford to lose him for nothing, and Malik Monk and a protected pick — that’s much better than nothing. So let’s go ahead, do the deal, and be done with it.’”
Monk was a solid rotational piece for the Lakers during the 2021-22 season. As a score-first 6-foot-3 guard known for being a tough perimeter shot maker, Monk has the green light on the offensive end more often than not.
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The Kentucky product averaged 13.8 points per game on 47.3% shooting from the field and 39.1% shooting from downtown in his lone season with Los Angeles.
Monk was nearly a 20+ points per game scorer this past season as a member of the Sacramento Kings, notching 17.2 points per contest in 65 outings.
However, the former lottery pick struggled with his three-point shot in Year 8, as he only recorded a 32.5% long-range shooting percentage.
Monk hasn’t found his touch from beyond the arc since joining Sacramento in 2022, connecting on less than 37% of his triples for three consecutive campaigns (giving Dubs fans a valid reason to question his fit with the franchise).
Still, if Golden State is committed to moving on from Kuminga swiftly, it may allow Monk to show he can be an above-average contributor in its three-point-focused offense.
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