The Golden State Warriors successfully retrieved value for Jonathan Kuminga’s contract at the trade deadline. For a while, it seemed like they wouldn’t be able to.
By the time Kuminga requested a trade in mid-January, there were very few teams registering concrete interest in his services.
We can debate the upside that Kristaps Porzingis has for the Warriors. But it’s hard to deny that moving Kuminga for positive value was a major success given the circumstances.
At the same time, however, one has to wonder if there were bigger fish on the market to be pursued with his contract.
His two-year, $46.8 million deal (with a club option) was constructed with the express purpose of it being simultaneously team-friendly and large enough to be moved for a star. Getting back Porzingis on an expiring contract is somewhat anticlimactic given the expectations that were once there.
It still remains to be seen what Porzingis can be in Golden State, but there is a chance that their failure to move for a high-impact player like Trey Murphy III could come back to haunt them.
Jonathan Kuminga’s departure limits the Warriors’ trade flexibility moving forward
On the trade market this season, the prospect of trading for a star was somewhat tricky. Anthony Davis and Trae Young went for pennies on the dollar to rebuilding teams, but they each came with their own injury and contract concerns.
The market for impactful starters and role players, in the meantime, was inflated.
In his intel drop on Feb. 10, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported that the Warriors had an offer in place involving Kuminga, an unprotected 2026 first-round pick, and a “softly protected” first-round pick in 2028 to acquire Murphy from the Pelicans.
If this is true, Golden State was most of the way to the finish line on a deal for Murphy. It has long been widely rumored that New Orleans’ asking price for Murphy started at two unprotected first-round picks. The Pelicans have also expressed interest in Kuminga in the past, although it’s unclear how much of that has endured through this season.
Needless to say, Murphy would be the perfect fit for the Warriors. The fifth-year wing has averaged 22.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while knocking down 38% of his attempts from beyond the arc this season.
It’s not as though a deal for a player of Murphy’s caliber is entirely off the table. Golden State still has all of their draft capital intact.
But moving Kuminga and Buddy Hield took $35 million in imminently tradable salary off the Warriors’ books. Their most palatable contract now resides with Moses Moody, who is set to make $37.5 million on his three-year rookie extension.
That wouldn’t even get them halfway to Murphy’s contract number in a salary-matching scenario.
Yet again, Golden State has held their draft capital close to their chest. If it’s anticipation of a larger move, perhaps all will be well. For now, however, it looks like the Kuminga move could turn out to be a disastrously missed opportunity.