Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh has a background with the Warriors, so he pounced on the opportunity to trade for Jonathan Kuminga, writes Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. Before going to Atlanta, Saleh spent three years in Golden State’s front office, giving him a first-hand look at Kuminga’s potential.
“I was there for, I think, [Kuminga’s] first three years,” he said. “For us, [the trade] made sense given our timeline and what we’re trying to do. I think a 23-year-old with a ton of potential — I think the things that he helps us with are his rim pressure that he puts on. He’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s a good rebounder. I think in transition, he could be absolutely phenomenal, and he adds size at the wing position if we ever need to add another defender to guard one of these bigger wings in the league. So, I’m really excited about Jonathan.”
After years of looking for a fresh start, Kuminga finally got his wish on Thursday when the Hawks acquired him and Buddy Hield in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis. Kuminga is currently dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee that will sideline him through the All-Star break, but the team is confident he’ll be able to produce when he returns.
Saleh also welcomes the outside shooting that Hield can provide and said his “hilarious” personality will be good to have in the locker room.
There’s more from Atlanta:
- Jock Landale made a strong impression in his debut with the Hawks, delivering 26 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in Thursday’s win over Utah. He was in Memphis when the trade was announced and turned down the team’s offer for a flight, opting to make the 5 1/2-hour drive to Atlanta instead, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). “I kind of said, if I’m looking to play that next night, I want to get there as soon as possible,” Landale said. “So loaded up the truck and hit the road.”
- The Hawks sent $3MM to the Jazz in the Landale trade, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks at Sports Business Classroom. The cash amount wasn’t specified when the deal was announced.
- Onyeka Okongwu returned Saturday after missing four games with a dental fracture, per Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link). The only player remaining on the injured list for the contest was Kuminga.
- Prior to the game, Saleh spoke to the media about his strategy at the deadline, Rowland adds (Twitter link). “Everything is future forward,” he said. “We didn’t want the flexibility that we created at the start of the season to be impacted by the deadline, and we felt like we maintained that flexibility.” Saleh also talked about preserving “optionality” for the summer.
Atlanta seems to be acting a little frantic after moving Trae. You’d think that after accepting that Young playing elsewhere would be the most beneficial outcome for your team that you’d be willing to slow your roll a little.
I really wonder what Kuminga is asking for in an extension. I don’t think ATL would have traded for him if he wanted good money rather than long term security. Just weirds me out a little that we’ve heard nothing about that and the fact that JK openly said he didn’t picture himself as a Hawk.
I suppose the oft ill Tingus Pingus isn’t much of price to pay for a buy in but still an interesting gamble.
Huh? Why would he be asking for an extension? Has he even been to Atlanta since the trade? His contract doesn’t expire until after next season. I would think they would want to see how he fits before they make an offer.
Hey genius, hopes this helps as someone who is a Warriors homer –
JK signed a deal with the Warriors that included a player option for next year. Meaning that either Atlanta accepts the option and he becomes a free agent next season, or they decline his option and he becomes a free agent this offseason.
Now I’m not sure of you’ve been following the only relevant story to come out of GS for multiple seasons, but JK and his departure was largely due to his desire for a good contract and playing time. So one would assume that both of those items are still top priority for his camp.
Unless of course your thinking completely stops as soon as it has to do with someone not on the Warriors roster. I could see then how something so very simple and discussed for months could be seen as utterly confusing and unimportant.
Is Mercury in retrograde? Wtf is happening today
Um, nope. It is a team option. He wanted a player option and the Warriors refused to give it. That was the sticking point in the negotiations. They could decline it, and renegotiate.
Oh jesus christ. Read what I wrote. Clearly speaking about a team option. Sorry that the inclusion of the word “player” instead of “team” made your brain immediately turn off.
The entire point was that ATL needs to negotiate. A point you were confused by until you tried to make it to me.
You people actually need to take a week off.
He’s got another year and a half before he can sign a new contract. Why should they start negotiations before he has even played a game? Give it a year. That is what caused his problems in GS. Why repeat the same mistake?
“JK signed a deal with the Warriors that included a player option for next year. ”
Also “Clearly speaking about a team option. ”
Words have meanings. You can’t reasonably blame people for your misuse of them.
If you read any of the words after that, you would understand that I was talking about a team option. Actually impossible to read what I wrote and treat it as if Im talking about a player about because it doesn’t make any sense.
Wrong. He wanted a player option but ended up with a team option.
They have a TO on Kuminga. So they can see how he looks. Even watch him another year. Personally I don’t see a good fit in Atlanta for JK. They will probably move him eventually. Hawks could be loading up for a Giannis trade.
I don’t think they’re being frantic at all. It was a great move for them. Why not take a chance at kuminga while moving off the Zinger. It’s very low risk high reward. I like what they’re doing over there.
There could be a couple of problems with their plan. Kuminga really didn’t like coming off the bench. And, he wanted to be the central focus of the offense. If he could accept not being those, he could be really good for them. It is up to him.
The move itself isn’t exactly what’s frantic. More of the timing of this deal after shipping out your franchise guy (franchise guy used somewhat lightly). Committing to Kuminga takes more than giving him a roster spot.
The Hawks just did some under the radar moves especially in getting Kuminga. Onsi has been sneaky with some of his moves so far where nobody has expected it. Kuminga made it to Atlanta a few days ago and was sitting on the bench with the rest of the guys. I don’t think the trade would have happened if the Hawks weren’t willing to give Kuminga solid minutes.
Love the Kuminga deal & the future of this team but our current lack of rebounding is extremely frustrating to watch. I love everything we did in the trade market except that we didn’t address our biggest weakness. Main reason we lost last night was rebounding & this has been a recurring theme all season long.
Hawks are rebuilding Again …… they have the draft capital to add major players to team next year. Thats who they are. JK imo will probably be traded.
Risacher was definitely the wrong pick and I know you can never get a true estimate on how good a player will be once he’s drafted but had they taken Alex Sarr or Stephen Castle this would be a much different team.
Kuminga I think was a good return for KP and I think apart of that is gather trade capital for another big name. Now with him and Risacher filling that SF role I think eventually 1 of them gets moved for that big fish.
Jalen is the 4, Dyson can play either guard spot and offers solid defence, Okungwu has had a great season but they do need a good rebounding back up centre. CJ may return at a lower price and that’s cool. NAW again solid season and for now they share that guard spot next to Dyson. They also have a very solid pick this year thanks for the Pelicans.
Know sure exactly which position they target or who they target to be that star beside Jalen but whoever it is I hope they really take their time to evaluate the potential fit and price point they are willing to pay.
Ja Morant has the X factor but do you really want his off the court issues in the ATL.
MPJ I wouldn’t trust the potential future injuries he could have.
I wouldn’t even look at bigs like KAT, Jarrett Allen, Sabonis etc I just don’t think that a good fit for now.
Tyler Herro could be alright maybe….
RJ Barrett at the right price isn’t that big name but I think he could be a really solid fit.
Jalen Green could be a buy low option but that doesn’t really do enough for me.
Same with a Scoot Henderson or Sharon Sharpe.
Trey Murphy would be interesting, think he’s got massive potential but again price point?
For now the Hawks are still at that middling play in area as a 40 win side but with the right moves could be a top seed in the east just need to play their cards right