New Suns forward Dillon Brooks discusses playing with Devin Booker
New Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks on joining the Phoenix Suns, playing with Devin Booker and more.
Jonathan Kuminga and the Phoenix Suns have mutual interest, but a trade is unlikely due to Golden State’s lack of interest in Phoenix’s assets.Kuminga desires a larger role and has reportedly declined a two-year extension with Golden State.
There is a mutual interest between the Phoenix Suns and Jonathan Kuminga, but there’s very little chance, if any, the athletic Golden State Warriors forward will end up in Phoenix, league sources informed The Arizona Republic this week.
Kuminga, 22, sees Phoenix as an opportunity to play a major role on a team built around Devin Booker, as the Suns have been in contact with his agent, Aaron Turner.
However, Golden State hasn’t shown interest in what the Suns could deliver, league sources have informed The Republic.
The Sacramento Kings and the Suns have been in high pursuit of Kuminga.
The Warriors could entertain a sign-and-trade, but there are first tax apron concerns. With the outgoing salary counting as only 50%, the Warriors are likely hard-capped in a sign-and-trade.
Say Kuminga agreed to a deal paying him $22.5 million the first year. The Suns were reportedly willing to deliver a four-year deal for $90 million, even though league sources have informed The Republic the offer isn’t that high.
The Warriors could take back only $11 million in salary.
Forward Royce O’Neale is scheduled to make $10.1 million this season and 7-footer Nick Richards is due $5 million. Golden State has always valued shooting, and O’Neale shot a career-best 40.7% from 3 last season.
The Warriors also have a need at center.
Golden State has extended a qualifying offer of $7.9 million to Kuminga. The two sides could agree to a new deal, but Kuminga has desires to continue his career elsewhere. ESPN reported last week Kuminga turned down a two-year extension worth $45 million that has a team option for the second year and doesn’t allow him to maintain the built-in no-trade clause.
From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kuminga was taken seventh overall in the 2021 draft.
At 6 feet 7 and 225 pounds, Kuminga possesses great athleticism, is skilled, but isn’t an overall ideal fit in Golden State. He started only 10 games last season, fueling the idea Kuminga and Warriors coach Steve Kerr weren’t always on the same page.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had our ups and downs, but he helped me to get there,” Kuminga said about his relationship with Kerr during a news conference after Golden State ended its 2024-25 season. “We had a lot of great moments. I think our relationship has been very good.”
A career 33.2% shooter on 3s, Kuminga shot a career-low 30.5% from deep last season. He averaged 15.3 points on a career-low 45.4% shooting and 4.6 rebounds in a career-low 47 games.
Kuminga missed 31 straight games with an ankle injury. He played only three games in the first round against the second-seeded Houston Rockets.
The seventh-seeded Warriors won the series in seven games, with Kuminga averaging just six points in the first round.
Kuminga went scoreless in Game 7 on four shot attempts in just seven minutes.
The Warriors stunned Minnesota in Game 1 of the conference semifinals, but lost Stephen Curry to a hamstring injury. The Timberwolves took the next four games to win the series, but Kuminga, with increased minutes and scoring opportunities, generated career numbers.
Kuminga averaged 24.2 points on 55.3% shooting in the final four games of that series. He scored 30 points to set a playoff career high in Game 3, connecting on 3-of-4 from 3.
The Suns could easily open the season with a starting lineup of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams, Kuminga and Booker if they were able to land the athletic forward.
Kuminga is a young talent who has great upside, but the Suns don’t appear to have enough to offer in terms of assets and draft capital to entice the Warriors to trade him to them.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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