Getty
After trading Jonathan Kuminga to the Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis, the Golden State Warriors continue to look like the losers of the deal.
The Golden State Warriors traded Jonathan Kuminga to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis in hopes of starting a new chapter. However, while Kuminga has been thriving, as seen with his Hawks stats, Porzingis is out and dealing with a ‘mystery illness’ with no return date, as the trade that the Warriors thought would be beneficial for the team, has quickly turned into a nightmare.
A month after the trade deadline move sending Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Hawks for Porzingis, Golden State continues to look like they were on the losing end of the deal. Along with the fact that Porzingis has played just one game for the Warriors since the deadline, Kuminga has thrived in Atlanta, putting up some of the best performances of his season and even his career.
BREAKING: The Golden State Warriors are trading Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis, sources tell ESPN.
Writing for Bleacher Report, Dan Favale detailed the now-brutal reality facing the Warriors after a move that was previously seen as a positive has quickly turned into a major issue as it relates to the future of the franchise.
“Jonathan Kuminga is playing the kind of basketball in Atlanta that has people attributing everything that happened with the Warriors to the team,” he wrote. “JK was clearly a basketball sicko who just needed to be unleashed.”
Favale originally graded the Hawks’ trade for Kuminga a ‘C‘ but has since bumped that up to a ‘B+‘. For the Warriors, he had it as an ‘A’ after the trade deadline, but swapped that with a ‘C+’ now a month later.
Warriors’ Kristaps Porzingis Jonathan Kuminga Trade Hits New Low
To be clear, Golden State trading Kuminga wasn’t a surprise, and the team shouldn’t be blamed for moving off the 23-year-old at the deadline, as, after a lengthy and dramatic saga with the forward, it was finally time for the two sides to go their separate ways.
However, while there was originally a thought, even expectation, that the Warriors would use Kuminga in a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, that never happened. Instead, after Golden State struck out on a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks for their franchise star, the Bay Area team pivoted to a move for Porzingis. The Latvian center has the upside, but so far, he’s barely shown any of that in his month-long tenure with the Warriors.
While Kuminga is averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals on 67.7% shooting in three games, all of which were wins for the Hawks, Porzingis put up 12 points, one rebound, and one assist in his lone game for Golden State since the deadline.
“Kuminga is racking up box-score numbers without deviating from the flow of the offense, and the Hawks look smarter for turning Porziņģis’ expiring contract into the former’s team option,” Favale wrote. “Even if Kuminga’s honeymoon period ends, Atlanta did well to roll over the KP salary slot for offseason trades.”
The Warriors weren’t getting what they wanted out of Kuminga, so a trade moving him wasn’t shocking. But with Porzingis’ uncertain health status, he isn’t looking like even close to one of the best trade deadline acquisitions.
“This uncertainty is easier to shake off if KP was playing. He’s not. He’s made just one appearance since the trade,” Favale added. “So while he’s a Utopic frontcourt fit alongside Draymond Green and—perhaps midway through next season—Jimmy Butler, the odds of him becoming a mainstay this year or beyond lower with each game he misses.”
Again, the Warriors had to get off Kuminga and his contract, but as the days since the trade deadline pass, while Kuminga puts in strong performances and Porzingis deals with a ‘mystery illness,’ Golden State continues to look like they fumbled the bag by making this trade.
Warriors Kristaps Porzingis Mystery Illness Update
While Kuminga is thriving early in his time in Atlanta, Porzingis can barely get on the court for the Warriors. Along with playing just one game for Golden State since the deadline, he’s currently missed the team’s last five games, and has no timeline for return while dealing with a ‘mystery illness.’
It doesn’t appear to be the P.O.T.S. diagnosis the Latvian received early in his career, nor the Achilles injury that kept him out for the Hawks earlier in the season. But as of now, Porzingis is out, and the Warriors still don’t know when he’ll return.
Reporting for ESPN, Anthony Slater wrote that Porzingis is traveling with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip, but has been ruled out for Golden State’s Thursday game against the Houston Rockets.
“Kristaps Porzingis remains out for a sixth straight game tomorrow night in Houston,” he wrote in a post on X. “Did make the trip with the Warriors.”
While the full scope of Porzingis’ status is still unknown, head coach Steve Kerr recently said that, after walking back his previous comments on the center’s health, he still doesn’t have a full understanding of what he’s dealing with, or how long it will take him to get back on the court.
“It’s a little mysterious,” he said. “We’re obviously working with him, and he can get some clarity, and he can kind of break through, and he can get to a point where he’s consistently healthy, but that’s something that the medical staff is working hard on with him. I’m not going to posit any medical theories anymore.”
Uncertain whether Kristaps Porzingis will join road trip. He was in the facility today. Out again with general illness.
Steve Kerr: “It’s a little mysterious. We’re working with him hoping he can get some clarity and breakthrough and get to a point he’s consistently healthy.”
While the Kuminga-Warriors saga was a leading storyline for the team in its own right, that has since been subplanted by Porzingis’ uncertain illness. The latest update on him signals no direct return timeline, and as the days go on, the deal sending Kuminga and Hield out for Porzingis continues to look bad from Golden State’s perspective.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski