We’re three weeks into free agency and Jonathan Kuminga is still a restricted free agent. The explosive forward appears to be in a stalemate with the Golden State Warriors, with rumors of multiple teams considering a sign-and-trade offer to acquire the former lottery pick.
According to a July 17 report from NBA Insider Jake Fischer, the Phoenix Suns, who recently bought out Bradley Beal’s contract, are the latest team to be linked with a potential move for Kuminga. Fischer did note that Phoenix is unlikely to emerge as favorites for Kuminga, in large part due to their lack of tradeable assets and overall flexibility.
“Sources say Phoenix, meanwhile, is the latest team to express exploratory interest in a Kuminga sign-and-trade … challenging as it would be for the Suns to make such a deal happen,” Fischer reported. “…The Suns, to be clear, do not appear to possess the sort of draft capital or players that Golden State is believed to be seeking in exchange for Kuminga. Yet he certainly did come up in trade talks between the teams during the season, sources say, when the Warriors were pursuing the re-acquisition of Kevin Durant.”
Kuminga’s future with the Warriors has been a hot topic since the Warriors entered the offseason. It’s clear that his career path projects to be away from the Bay Area. However, given his limited free agency market, he may need to remain patient before getting the move he needs, in order to push forward with his career.
Advertisement
After all, Kerr recently admitted that he can’t commit to giving Kuminga a leading role within the rotation. His comments came via a May 21 appearance on “The TK Show” podcast with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic
“All I do is I coach the team every year and try to put the puzzle together the best I can,” Kerr said. “I’ve, you know, it’s a tricky one because Jonathan obviously is gifted and wants to play a bigger role and wants to play more. And, I’ve been asked to win. Right now, he’s not a guy who I can say that I’m going to play 38 minutes with the roster that we have…Doesn’t mean he’s not a really good player. Doesn’t mean he’s not talented. It just means the fit. And with the roster that we have, it’s tricky.”
Sooner or later, the Warriors will need to decide on how they’re going to move forward. They can either re-sign Kuminga and look to trade him later in the basketball season. Alternatively, they can become aggressive in seeking a willing sign-and-trade partner to resolve the stalemate and obtain some assets for their efforts. As things stand, Golden State could go either way. Still, Warriors fans and the front office will likely want the saga to end in the near future.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Jonathan Kuminga drawing interest from new Western Conference team