Recently, the Golden State Warriors shook things up by trading Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for big man Kristaps Porzingis. The move finally ends the bizarre Kuminga saga in Golden State, which saw him mostly pulled from head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation throughout this season.
Still, Kuminga has a supporter in former Warriors teammate Draymond Green, who recently spoke on how he envisions the former lottery pick fitting in with the Hawks.
“He can go become a cornerstone of that franchise with Jalen Johnson, those 2 guys running downhill at you in transition, good luck,” said Green, per The Draymond Green Show on X, formerly Twitter.
Kuminga will indeed be joining Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, the recently named 2026 All-Star, who is one of the most explosive transition players in the NBA. Kuminga has also been lauded for his athletic ability and willingness to run the floor, so he should help fit in with Atlanta’s vision of building a young team of athletic wings who can do multiple things.
Currently, Kuminga is out of the lineup due to a knee issue, but it doesn’t seem to be anything long term.
Meanwhile, Porzingis is also out of the lineup for Golden State as he tends to an Achilles issue that sidelined him for the last several weeks when he was a member of the Hawks. When he is healthy, Porzingis figures to provide Golden State with a stretch five who can defend the rim and give Stephen Curry some additional floor spacing to work with.
However, health has always been a major concern for the Latvian big man, which has continued into this year during his time with Atlanta.
In any case, the Warriors are next slated to take the floor on Monday evening at home against the Memphis Grizzlies.