Newly eligible to be dealt as of today, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has demanded a trade out of Golden State, according to Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of ESPN.
Kuminga’s trade demand is something of a formality, since his desire for a change of scenery has been a poorly-kept secret for months.
The former No. 7 overall pick discussed potential deals with teams like Sacramento and Phoenix as a restricted free agent during the offseason, but those suitors didn’t have the ability to sign him outright to an offer sheet out of the Warriors’ price range and didn’t make a sign-and-trade offer compelling enough for Golden State to move him.
As a result, Kuminga ended up returning to the Warriors on a two-year, $46.8MM contract that features a team option for 2026/27. After opening the season in the starting lineup, he was moved to the second unit in November and eventually fell out of the rotation altogether. The fifth-year forward hasn’t seen any action since December 18.
The relationship between Kuminga and the Warriors has deteriorated to the point that virtually every party involved in the situation agrees a trade would be the best outcome, per Slater and Charania. Even team owner Joe Lacob, who has long been one of Kuminga’s top boosters in the organization, is “down” on the 23-year-old at this point, team sources tell Marcus Thompson II, Sam Amick, and Nick Friedell of The Athletic.
Still, Kuminga’s value has declined considerably in recent years and has fallen further during the first half of this season due to his DNP-CDs, so it will be difficult for the Warriors to get the kind of return they want. For instance, the Kings, who were offering Malik Monk and a 2030 first-round pick (top-12 protected) during the summer, remain interested in the forward but are no longer willing to include a first-rounder in their offer, according to The Athletic.
With Kuminga’s value at a low point, Warriors sources have insisted that the team would be comfortable keeping him on the roster beyond the trade deadline and revisiting the situation over the summer, according to both ESPN and The Athletic. While Golden State says it won’t make a deal unless it gets real value in return, per The Athletic, Slater and Charania say rival executives are skeptical of the Warriors’ posturing and believe Kuminga will be on the move before the February 5 trade deadline.
Phoenix is reportedly no longer interested in Kuminga, but there are other possible suitors in play. The Mavericks have also shown interest, Slater and Charania confirm, though one recent report suggested Dallas was only eyeing Kuminga as part of a potential deal involving Anthony Davis. It’s unclear if the Mavs would pursue Kuminga separately or if they just viewed him as an appealing piece within a larger return.
League and team sources confirm to The Athletic that the Lakers have some level in interest in Kuminga, though it doesn’t sound as if the two teams have engaged in any real talks about him to this point.
The Warriors have been cited as a potential suitor for Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., but a team source tells The Athletic that there haven’t been substantial discussions between those two teams. Slater and Charania, meanwhile, cite league sources who say the Warriors haven’t talked to Brooklyn in over a month and have “never shown real interest” in making a move for Porter.
Golden State has been frequently linked to Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III, but there has never been any indication New Orleans wants Kuminga, and Joe Dumars‘ front office has been rebuffing inquiries on Murphy, ESPN confirms.
Here are a few more Kuminga-related items of interest:
- League sources tell Slater and Charania that the Warriors are prioritizing expiring salaries in a Kuminga deal and aren’t looking to take on multiyear contracts unless they view those contracts as “no-brainer positive value.” That’s why Golden State was never all that interested in a deal involving Monk, though sources tell ESPN that Kings guard Keon Ellis is a player who would intrigue the Warriors as a “potential sweetener.”
- For the right star, the Warriors would be open to moving multiple first-round picks, per Slater and Charania. Team sources tell ESPN that Golden State is more willing to part with its 2026 first-rounder than with picks in 2028 and beyond.
- It looked like Kuminga would get a chance to return to the Warriors’ rotation on January 2 with several regulars sidelined for health reasons, but he was a late scratch due to lower back soreness. According to Thompson, Amick, and Friedell, that turn of events created some frustration within the organization, with multiple team sources telling The Athletic they suspect Kuminga wasn’t actually injured. “I wouldn’t have played either,” one Warriors player said. “It’s clear the coach doesn’t believe in him.”
- Speaking of that coach, Steve Kerr was among the members within the organization who was in favor of drafting Franz Wagner with the seventh pick in the 2021 draft, team sources confirm to The Athletic. Wagner ended up being picked eighth overall by Orlando after the Warriors took Kuminga due to their desire to add “athleticism and potential star power” to the roster.
Here we go!!!
I am in total shock that he wants out. He should not have signed the contract but the money was too good to pass up.
Not surprising for me, to be honest. It became clear that he wanted out just from the jump since last season; in fact, I believe that he signed the contract just so he and the Warriors could spend more time testing things out between each other and potentially looking for other opportunities, but it seems that Kuminga really doesn’t want to be there anymore. Now, it’s just a matter of time for us to see the “to where” and “for whom” when it comes to Kuminga.
“Total shock”? Is that sarcasm?
Davey it’s gotta be sarcasm lol
I dont understand. Are you blaming Kuminga or Warriors for the signing?
From that NYT/Athletic link
“At this point, the most the Warriors got out of three lottery picks was a solid rotation player in Moses Moody.”
Moses Moody – does NOT suck.
Dubs, please move him! I genuinely hope JK can move on and have a bright future somewhere else. That being said, whatever the Warriors do receive player(s) that can plug and play and put us back into title competitive group!
Yes, I agree on the player. I hope it works out. I hope he becomes great and is successful in his future ventures.
But as far as the return right now? It’s not going to be diddly squat. He just ruined that potential favorable outcome this morning.
Unless he’s part of a massive five team deal, at most the Warriors can expect back at this point is some scrub making about the same salary, and a second round pick, if that !!
This whole situation was really embarrassing. Warriors fans can’t wait for it to be over.
It’s not embarrassing unless you wanted to see just how bad Kerr is at his job of developing players, its more frustrating due to the new salary cap rules. Hope GSW can at least get some players out of this who will actually play.
Both sides should be embarrassed. Warriors for letting it go this far and Kuminga thinking he is a max extension player. Why owners need to stay out of the draft room.
Think in Kuminga ‘s case it was more of “if you to keep me then show me” situation. The kid just wanted an opportunity, it never came and now he wants out. I don’t blame the Warriors, they were trying to win but they should’ve traded the pick they used to get Kuminga to upgrade their roster.
There are always variety of opinions on a draft within a team. At the end, you draft as a team. It’s such a bs about Wagner report to throw Lacob under the bus.
Just from what Lacob has said in the past you know he picked Kuminga. Lacob quote the he promised his dad he would never trade Kuminga because he will be a big star. Is a very strange thing to say from a few years ago.
Yes, “really embarrassing”. I’ll bet dippy-2.0 can find a way to make it Kerr’s fault.
HERE WE GO!!!!!
Lmao!! The dumpster is about to catch fire.
He thinks he is so good. He is a 2nd unit player.
His trade value is comical at this point
During negotiations in the summer, Kuminga’s agent actually said that they feel like the Warriors should pay him BECAUSE he had lost his spot in the roster and wasn’t given an opportunity to shine, and that if he got 30 million a year he would be fully committed moving forward.
That should’ve been the sign for the Warriors to move on from this balding head case, as seemingly he is <72% committed to the team with his mere 25 million.
The Warriors should’ve exercised their option, pay him 9 million, and let him leave for nothing. Could’ve used that money on something else I presume. This isn’t me saying so in hindsight it was clear to me after what his agent said.
the classic…you can’t fire me!..cuz I QUIT!
It was a grave mistake to extend somebody who had lost his rotation spot for $50MM/2 yrs, just to try and extract value in a trade.
If that’s the plan then you have to be playing him and reconstruct the offense to make him shine, which they were obviously not going to do with Steph Draymond and Butler on the team.
Now he has negative trade value and you’re stuck with a toxic player for one and a half more years, when you could’ve just paid him $9 million for his final season and let him walk “for nothing”, even though you would be sending a strong message in your organization about the player’s accountability in the team’s player development, as Kuminga failed to become an efficient shooter, which is probably the easiest skill to master, so it really wouldn’t be losing him for nothing.
couldn’t disagree more
TWO yrs too late ….
This young man has just screwed up all goodwill that he has been trying to foster up to this point. Now there’s pressure and the return will be even less.
Now he’s a malecontent. Now he is a complainer when the situation isn’t right. Now he’s demanding.
All the coaching he received, all the wonderful statements of doing whatever the team wants, are all out the window now.
Someone got in his ear and said that he needed to take control of his situation and he needed to stand up for himself. He just screwed the Warriors and just screwed himself.
Horrible news this morning. All he did was put on a pretty face for four months. The reality is he was lying.
This was so unnecessary. He knows he’s going to get traded between now and the deadline. Everyone on the face of the planet knows he’s getting traded. But now he demands it? Foolish young man only looking out for himself.
yea, gary….his agent talks too much. like Rich Paul
To be fair, it doesn’t seem as though the Warriors have wanted to keep him around. This is the way it’s done now, negotiation through social media and public opinion.
Should he have quietly asked for a trade, maybe. Why not force the Dubs hand, undercut their ability to drag him out until the summer? Dude wants to actually play, I take that as a good thing. He could quietly collect his millions while he waits… but if it’s all on the down low, how do you trust the warriors are going to do what’s best for him, they most certainly are only looking out for themselves… as you say.