Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga Demands Trade
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.
Warriors Notes: Thompson, Curry, Horford, Rotation, Richard, More
Several weeks after Klay Thompson tore his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals, the Warriors re-signed him to a five-year, maximum-salary contract in a show of loyalty to a player who had helped them win three championships up to that point. However, that deal became a source of contention between Thompson and management, according to Anthony Slater and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Thompson, who tore his Achilles a year later in a pickup game away from the team’s facility and ended up missing a second consecutive full season, later admitted he should have been more careful about his ACL rehab process. However, given what he believes he’d contributed to the team Thompson was upset to overhear team owner Joe Lacob griping about his drop-off in production and telling people that the veteran sharpshooter should be grateful Golden State gave him that contract, sources tell Slater and MacMahon.
“This was a guy who felt he left it all out there for Joe and the organization, and was then viewed as damaged goods,” one league source said to ESPN.
That was one major factor that contributed to the growing tension between Thompson and the Warriors later on in that five-year deal. While the team insists it offered Thompson a two-year, $48MM contract extension during the summer of 2023, he and his camp didn’t believe that proposal was as concrete as it was portrayed, and he eventually felt as if the team “pushed (him) out in a strategic manner” during his 2024 free agency, per ESPN’s report.
Citing league sources, Slater and MacMahon report that Thompson would like to be playing for a contender, though he says he remains hopeful that can happen with the Mavericks. Asked about the possibility of eventually reuniting with the Warriors before he retires, Thompson was noncommittal, but one league source who spoke to ESPN believes Thompson would consider it if Stephen Curry pushed for it. “There’s no one that carries more weight with Klay than Steph,” that source said.
“It would be unbelievable,” Curry said when asked about the idea. “If that time comes and that conversation is had, of course I’m calling him and saying, ‘We want you back.’ And hopefully that would be a welcome message to him. But as we stand right now, that does seem like a far distant reality. But so did him leaving.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Head coach Steve Kerr said earlier this week that the health issue affecting Al Horford (right sciatic nerve irritation) has healed. However, Horford told reporters today that he believes he’s still about a week away from returning to action as he progressing through his rehab process, per Nick Friedell of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- The Warriors’ up and down play this season has resembled the pre-Jimmy Butler version of last year’s team. Unlike in 2024/25 though, Kerr doesn’t believe the front office needs to make a roster move to jump-start the team. “It feels similar in that we’re inconsistent,” Kerr said on Wednesday, according to Friedell. “We’re around .500, but I know that we have the answer here. Last year I felt like we had to make a move. This year I don’t think that’s the case. I think we have what we need here, but we need to develop more consistency in our play and that starts with me, giving these guys more consistent roles.”
- Kerr added that there are “tricky” rotation decisions to make because he trusts so many of the players on the 18-man roster to play regular minutes. “I think we have 14, 15 guys who I feel very comfortable putting on the floor, but I also only feel comfortable playing 11 at the most each night, really 10,” Kerr said, per Friedell. “And so no matter how we slice it, I’m gonna come up here and you’re gonna ask me about three different guys and it’s fair because they can all play.”
- One player who has fallen out of the rotation as of late is rookie Will Richard, who has been a DNP-CD in the Warriors’ past two games despite making 12 starts earlier this fall. “It’s been tough not playing him because I’m a huge fan and a believer,” Kerr said during a radio appearance on 95.7 The Game (hat tip to NBC Sports Bay Area). “He offers us stability and decision-making, good shooting, so he’s just got to stay with it. Right now, frankly, he’s sitting because he’s a rookie and I’m honoring what the older guys have done over the years. I think that’s good for chemistry, I think this is kind of how it goes.”
- Asked whether the Warriors would consider the idea of trading Butler or Draymond Green, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter audio link) didn’t rule out the possibility, but noted that Curry would have to be convinced it was the right move. “I would not say it’s impossible,” Poole said. “Right now it still seems improbable.” To this point, Butler or Green have only really come up in trade speculation involving Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Warriors Notes: Kerr, Butler, Green, Lacob, Lineup, Horford, Spencer
After the Warriors fell below .500 on Sunday as a result of a 136-131 loss in Portland, head coach Steve Kerr took the blame for the loss and the 13-14 club’s recent struggles, writes ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
“I’m not doing my job well this year,” Kerr told reporters.
Stephen Curry scored 48 points in the loss, his second-highest total of the season. However, Golden State’s offense has struggled badly when the two-time MVP isn’t on the floor. The team has scored 118.8 points per 100 possessions when Curry is in the game, compared to just 107.1 when he’s not. The latter mark would be equivalent to the worst offense in the NBA.
As Slater notes, Kerr singled out one sequence in Sunday’s game when Curry wasn’t on the floor and star swingman Jimmy Butler didn’t touch the ball for four consecutive possessions.
“That’s on me,” Kerr said. “But that’s also on our players to understand. I can’t call a play every time. Nor do I want to. We have to find a way in collaboration to make sure we are playing through Jimmy.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Nick Friedell of The Athletic suggests that the Warriors need more aggression from Butler, whose 11.4 shot attempts per game this season are well below the 14.5 per game he averaged from 2014-24. Draymond Green didn’t disagree with that sentiment, though he also suggested he needs to do more to get Butler involved in the offense. “I think I got to do a better job of knowing, paying attention to the flow of the game, when he hasn’t touched the ball.” Green said. “When he hasn’t touched the ball for multiple possessions, getting him a touch and making sure he’s in the flow. … And then, as I do a better job of that, I also need Jimmy to be more aggressive and demonstrative and go take the ball. Or come get the ball. And say exactly where he want the ball.”
- As Alex Simon of SFGate.com writes, a Warriors fan who wrote an email to Joe Lacob to express his frustrations with the team and with Golden State’s usage of Butler got a candid and near-instant response from the team owner. “You can’t be as frustrated as me,” Lacob wrote in his reply to the fan. “I am working on it. It’s complicated. Style of play. Coaches desires regarding players. League trends. Jimmy is not the problem.” Asked on Tuesday about the leaked email, Kerr indicated he wasn’t bothered by Lacob’s reference to “coaches’ desires regarding players,” according to Slater. “Not a big deal,” Kerr said. “… We’re all frustrated. Joe is frustrated. I’m frustrated. Steph and (Green), everybody’s frustrated. … Joe supports me 100 percent. I support him. We have a great connection. We’ve had so much continuity here. Our stable environment in our organization is one of our strengths.”
- Seeking more continuity, Kerr said on Tuesday that he intends to keep using his current starting lineup – Curry, Butler, Green, Moses Moody, and Quinten Post – for the foreseeable future, barring an injury, tweets Slater.
- The health issue that has sidelined Al Horford for eight of the past nine games (right sciatic nerve irritation) has healed, Kerr said on Tuesday. The veteran big man is still considered doubtful to play on Thursday vs. Phoenix, but he’s nearing a return (Twitter link via Slater).
- Two-way player Pat Spencer will miss Thursday’s game for personal reasons, as Marc Stein tweets. Spencer has been active for each of Golden State’s 27 games so far and is already more than halfway to his 50-game limit. Any game he misses will give the Warriors a little extra time later in the season to convert him to a standard contract in order to keep him active.
Warriors Made New Offer To Jonathan Kuminga, But Stalemate Continues
The Warriors made a new contract offer to restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga last week, hoping to end the standoff that has prevented them from completing other offseason moves, sources tell Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of ESPN.
Golden State’s latest proposal is a three-year, $75.2MM deal with a team option in the third season, according to the authors’ sources. It includes $48.3MM in guaranteed money over the first two years, which Slater and Charania point out is nearly equal to the annual salary that restricted free agent Josh Giddey received last week in his new contract with Chicago. They add that the major difference is that Giddey received four guaranteed years with no options on either side, while Kuminga would most likely be a trade asset under his next contract rather than part of the team’s long-term future.
The offer is an increase from the two-year, $45MM contract that was presented to Kuminga and his representatives earlier this summer. That deal also included a team option on the final season and a demand that Kuminga waive his inherent no-trade clause.
The authors describe the Warriors’ insistence on those provisions, even in the new proposal, as a “major part” of the prolonged standoff. Their sources say Golden State’s only offer without a team option was for $54MM over three years, which brings the annual salary down to $18MM.
Kuminga has been requesting a player option to give him more control over his future, sources tell Slater and Charania. He and agent Aaron Turner have been willing to accept a yearly salary in the $20MM range as a tradeoff, but they believe agreeing to a team option should bring Kuminga’s salary up to about $30MM per year. The Warriors consider a player option to be a “nonstarter,” according to the authors.
The latest proposal from Kuminga and his agent is described as a “souped-up version” of Golden State’s qualifying offer, which is also still on the table. Kuminga would receive more money than the $8MM QO that was tendered in late June, but it would be a one-year deal that makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer and allows the Warriors to shop him as an expiring contract heading into the trade deadline. It also creates the possibility that Kuminga could spend another full season with the team and start negotiations fresh next offseason.
General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. turned down that idea, the authors state, as owner Joe Lacob is reportedly unwilling to accept any deal that puts the Warriors at risk of losing Kuminga next summer while getting nothing in return.
Lacob has been a strong believer in Kuminga ever since he advocated drafting him ahead of Franz Wagner in 2021, according to the authors. Sources tell them that Lacob refused to part with Kuminga in a proposed trade with Chicago for Alex Caruso two years ago, and he remained a vocal supporter even when the forward was removed from Steve Kerr‘s rotation last season. But sources tell the authors that Lacob has never intervened with Kerr on Kuminga’s behalf and has allowed the coach to make his own decisions about who gets on the court.
Kerr has indicated that Kuminga would see ample playing time this season if he opts to re-sign, according to Slater and Charania’s sources. However, Kuminga’s camp has pointed to comments that Kerr made during the playoffs — stating that Kuminga isn’t a natural fit alongside Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler — and they suggest that staying with Golden State might not be the best move for Kuminga’s career.
Before the Warriors shut down the idea of a sign-and-trade, they received offers from the Suns (who intended to pay Kuminga about $80-88MM over four years) and Kings (three years at $63-66MM), who were both willing to give him a player option and make him their starting power forward.
However, the Warriors weren’t satisfied with the return in the proposed deals, which reportedly would have brought Royce O’Neale and second-round draft compensation from Phoenix or Malik Monk and a protected first-rounder from Sacramento.
With training camp starting in two weeks, the authors state that Kuminga’s best hope is for Lacob to intervene, either to give him the financial compensation that he wants or ease his pathway to another team. The Warriors have several moves on hold that can’t be completed until the Kuminga situation is resolved, so a final decision will have to be made soon.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Kuminga, Kerr, Lacob
Warriors star Stephen Curry isn’t panicking as the offseason drags along without his team making a roster addition, writes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Personnel moves have been on hold as Golden State’s front office tries to resolve a stalemate with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga. Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Seth Curry are among the candidates to sign with Golden State once Kuminga’s situation is settled, and Stephen Curry doesn’t have any anxiety about the situation with training camp still roughly six weeks away.
“It’s different, for sure,” the two-time MVP told reporters on Thursday at his youth basketball camp. “But my confidence is built on the identity we were able to create over the last third of the regular season last year and the playoff journey.”
Curry added, “We have a really good team,” but acknowledged there’s a “need for some pieces to help get us to the next level.”
As he prepares for his 17th NBA season, Curry explained that his offseason routine has “evolved drastically” and his workouts now emphasize “checking off all the boxes of movement and skill set that’s relevant to my game.” He doesn’t seem to have any lingering effects from the strained left hamstring that forced him to miss nearly all of the second-round playoff loss to Minnesota.
“Pacing myself nice,” he said. “Ready to finish the summer strong. … When you see me whenever Media Day is, should be primed and ready to go.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Six of the top eight players selected in the 2021 draft already have lucrative extensions in hand, but Kuminga hasn’t been able to reach an agreement on a modest salary with Golden State, notes Ron Kroichick of The San Francisco Chronicle. Landing with an established team, Kuminga didn’t receive the regular rotation role and consistent minutes that top-seven picks usually get. Add that to a depressed market where none of the top restricted free agents have landed an offer sheet, and it’s easy to understand Kuminga’s frustration. “He apparently thinks he’s at the Cade Cunningham–Scottie Barnes level, where he should get that type of contract,” a league source told Kroichick. “… It’s really a quandary. I think it’s bad for the Warriors and bad for him.”
- Appearing on the Glue Guys Podcast (YouTube link) Steve Kerr talked about the frustrations of trying to work with young players in the midst of a hectic NBA schedule. “We don’t practice anymore,” Kerr said. “So we have to develop these 19-year-old kids who are coming into the league without much practice time. … Frankly, I’m not great — I’m an older coach. … So I lean on the young (coaches).”
- As vice president of basketball development Kent Lacob leaves the organization, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic explores the reasons behind his decision and the stressful journey to break the news to his father, Warriors owner Joe Lacob.
Warriors Don’t Expect To Trade Jonathan Kuminga
After making little progress in sign-and-trade talks, the Warriors expect Jonathan Kuminga to be on their roster when the season begins, a source tells Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard.
As a restricted free agent, Kuminga has been involved in a stalemate throughout the summer. No interested teams have enough cap space to make a competitive offer, and no one is willing to give Golden State what it wants in a potential deal. The Kings and Suns have been mentioned most prominently as possible trade partners for the 22-year-old forward, but negotiations have been fruitless so far.
Several sources tell Kawakami that the Warriors have been “unenthusiastic” about the prospect of trading Kuminga since the process began. Owner Joe Lacob remains a huge supporter of Kuminga and isn’t willing to part with him unless the trade package includes “real value.”
Kawakami adds that Lacob is willing to be patient until the situation is resolved. That means there’s no pressure on general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. to take the best available deal just to have a sense of certainty as training camp nears.
In the absence of an offer sheet from a rival team, Kuminga’s options are limited. He can either accept a reported two-year, $45MM offer from the Warriors that includes a team option for the second season, or he can sign his one-year, $8MM qualifying offer.
Kawakami views the Kings as the best destination for Kuminga and states that he probably would have signed with them by now if he had been unrestricted. Sacramento could offer a definite rotation role and is rumored to be willing to pay him $63MM over three years.
The Kings are reportedly offering Malik Monk and a protected future first-round pick in return, which hasn’t piqued the Warriors’ interest. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that Golden State wants the pick to be unprotected, and Kawakami is doubtful that the team has interest in giving up Moses Moody or Buddy Hield, as one of them would have to be added to the deal due to base year compensation rules.
Kuminga has until October 1 to accept the qualifying offer, and Kawakami notes that the date can be pushed back if both sides agree. That means there’s no urgency to get a deal in place, especially from the team’s perspective.
Kawakami’s compromise solution is for the Warriors to replace the second-year team option in their proposal with a partially guaranteed year, perhaps around $14MM. That would guarantee Kuminga in excess of $30MM and take away his right to block a trade. Kawakami points out that it would provide a lot more security than taking the QO and would leave Kuminga with a contract that would be easy to move by the February trade deadline.
Latest On Jonathan Kuminga
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga is set to hit restricted free agency this summer after an up-and-down fourth season in Golden State. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic details, Kuminga’s future with the Warriors is uncertain due a number of factors.
League sources tell Slater that Kuminga still views himself as a future All-Star and is trying to find a home where he can have an expansive offensive role to showcase his abilities. The 22 year-old forward had a rocky playoff run, having been outside of the rotation for most of the first-round series against Houston, only to have a featured role in the second-round series vs. Minnesota after Stephen Curry sustained a hamstring strain.
Kuminga was an effective and efficient scorer (24.3 PPG on .554/.389/.720 shooting) in those four games against a strong defense, Slater notes, giving some credence to the notion that the former lottery pick could put up big individual numbers under the right conditions. And despite some differences of opinion in how Kuminga sees — and values — himself and the way the team has wanted him to play, none of the differences between the involved parties are “irreconcilable,” according to Slater’s sources.
However, Kuminga may not be able to achieve his individual goals playing for the Warriors, who are trying to build out a championship roster around Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. The “cleanest path” forward might be finding a sign-and-trade that could work for both the Warriors and Kuminga, Slater writes.
As Slater observes, head coach Steve Kerr has long hoped Kuminga would become a Shawn Marion-type player — someone who can excel without the ball, defend multiple positions, and rebound at a high level. But Kuminga is more of a ball-dominant scorer who is inconsistent in other areas, making his on-court fit in Kerr’s system an awkward one at times.
While the Nets are not currently expected to give Kuminga an offer sheet, Brooklyn may be open to the idea of multi-team sign-and-trade scenarios this offseason as a means to maximize its cap space, league sources tell Slater. That could give the Warriors, Kuminga, Nets and interested suitors a mutually beneficial way of finding something they’re all seeking.
The problem with a potential sign-and-trade, Slater explains, is that Kuminga will be subject to base year compensation rules, and the Warriors would be hard-capped at the first apron if they take back more than 50% of Kuminga’s starting salary. While everyone involved is “expected to explore all options,” due to the aforementioned restrictions, Warriors sources have been dropping hints to Slater that the “most obvious and prudent path” might be simply re-signing Kuminga.
Going that route would give Golden State more time to assess Kuminga’s fit, and the base-year restrictions would be removed in that scenario in January, when Kuminga would theoretically become trade-eligible.
Owner Joe Lacob is known to be a big fan of Kuminga’s and told the young forward to stay open-minded about a potential return, according to Slater, who hears Kuminga “hasn’t slammed the door shut” on that possibility. The Warriors have final say due to Kuminga being a RFA, but Slater suggests Kuminga might not be thrilled with a reunion unless certain circumstances change.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Butler, Green, Kuminga, Podziemski
The Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday, falling to the Timberwolves in Game 5 of their second-round series. After taking Game 1, Golden State was without Stephen Curry for all four of its losses in the Western Conference semifinals. Would the outcome of the series have been different if Curry hadn’t been sidelined by a strained hamstring?
“I am pretty positive that if we had Steph, we’d have won this series,” team owner Joe Lacob told Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic after the game.
“I don’t even have to think what (if),” head coach Steve Kerr said when asked whether he’ll wonder what the Warriors could have done with a healthy Curry (story via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). “I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the distance. Maybe we wouldn’t have, but it doesn’t matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot. Are you playing well at the right time?”
As Slater and Thompson note, the sentiment expressed by Lacob in particular is notable, since it suggests the Warriors believe in this group and don’t intend to seriously shake up the roster. Team sources tell The Athletic that the conversations within the front office entering the summer have been about how best to complement Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, not about trying to acquire another star.
“On the surface, that’s why (Butler) signed for two more years — our belief we can make it work,” Curry said. “And we’ve proven that the last three months. Just gotta figure out what is going to get us to the next level as a whole. One guy can’t win it. Two guys can’t win it. It’s gotta be a team.”
The plan is for Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. to return as well, per Slater and Thompson, who write that Warriors ownership remains fully confident in its coaching staff and front office.
“I have a great coach and I have a great GM,” Lacob told The Athletic. “I have no problems with anything in respect to them. Mike made a fantastic trade (for Butler). Before we made that trade, we were one game under .500 and it didn’t look like we were going anywhere.
“We won a first-round series against a very good up-and-coming team with a lot of athleticism and size. I thought it was a hell of a win. Got us pretty tired probably for this series, and maybe that was just too much to overcome. In that first game (against Minnesota), Steph looked like he was going to cook, right? But what are we going to do? Stuff happens.”
For his part, Kerr also expressed enthusiasm about the Warriors going forward: “I’m excited. We’ve got Jimmy and Dray and Steph all coming back. Our young players performed really well. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Here’s more on Golden State:
- Lacob remains one of Jonathan Kuminga‘s biggest fans, according to Slater and Thompson, who say it’s “nearly impossible” to believe the Warriors owner would let the restricted free agent forward sign an offer sheet with another team and leave for nothing this summer. A new deal for Kuminga and the Warriors is still on the table, sources tell The Athletic, though both sides are also expected to consider sign-and-trade scenarios.
- “There are certainly things he has to improve on, but he’s 22 years old,” Lacob said of Kuminga. “He’s got a hell of a lot of potential, and I would think he would be a part of our future plans. Now we’ll have to see how the market all shakes out. We have a lot of evaluating to do. Not me necessarily. But everybody — from coaching staff to basketball operations. We’ll kind of sit around and talk about how we want to construct the team for next year and what the situation is with respect to him.”
- The Warriors’ decision to resist trade offers for Brandin Podziemski last offseason wasn’t unanimous within the organization, per Slater and Thompson. Some of the people who were in favor of gauging Podziemski’s market believe the team needs “more of a Jordan Poole-type play-maker,” The Athletic’s duo says. The front office also believes Golden State needs more positional size at multiple spots, Slater and Thompson add.
- Green said after the Game 5 loss that he’s “100 percent” confident the Warriors’ young players are capable of taking “the next step,” writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Lacob also said he thinks Golden State’s younger contributors can take “yet another leap” and defended them from online criticism. “I get very upset when I read all this crap on the internet, these comments by people, you know, ‘This guy’s crap. That guy’s crap. The drafts were terrible.’ Bull—t!” the Warriors’ owner told The Athletic. “Our drafts were not bad at all. These guys are very young. They’ve had to fit into a very difficult situation with experienced players. It’s not like they can just go out and put up numbers. So I think we’ve drafted very well. We’ve got some good young players.”
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks and HoopsHype’s Mark Deeks have published their Warriors offseason previews, looking ahead to how the team might handle Kuminga’s restricted free agency, as well as making note of other veteran free agents, like Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II.
Warriors Execs, Players Address Jimmy Butler Acquisition
The Warriors made a bold move at the deadline in acquiring six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, consolidating four players to bring him in and change the makeup of the roster. In a media session ahead of Golden State’s game in Los Angeles on Thursday, members of the Warriors and Butler himself discussed the move.
“I’ve always loved him,” owner Joe Lacob told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “I love Draymond [Green]. So we’re dealing with something similar. Incredible competitiveness. My kind of guy.”
The Suns were considered the top suitor for Butler for weeks, with reports repeatedly citing strong mutual interest between the two sides. Phoenix was considered to be the team most willing to pay Butler the maximum-salary extension he sought, and the star forward liked the idea of a future playing alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
However, Bradley Beal‘s contract – which includes a no-trade clause – proved too difficult to move and thus, Butler wound up in Golden State and Durant stayed put in Phoenix.
“[Butler] was trying to get where he thought he wanted to go,” Lacob said. “He just happened to be thinking incorrectly at the time. That’s now been amended.”
Given their reported desire to make a change to the roster, the Suns even engaged in talks about the idea of a trade that would have sent Durant either Golden State or Miami. However, Durant was uninterested in a reunion with Golden State, which prompted the Warriors to pivot to pursuing Butler.
Green, who played with Durant from 2016-19, downplayed Durant’s reported unwillingness to reunite forces, according to Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina. “Didn’t affect my life one bit,” Green said.
“When you walk on the court and you look on the other end and you see guys that you respect, half the battle is fought,” Green said of the Warriors trading for Butler. “And with Jimmy, that’s half the battle. So that’s going to be fun because we can compete at the highest level.”
Warriors players, including Green, seemed grateful that Golden State’s front office made a move that makes them more competitive this year after the team slid out of the playoff field over the course of the last couple months. Tied with the Kings but sitting in 11th, the Warriors have the final two months of the season to climb into the postseason.
“We’re going in a direction,” general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said. “We have three kind-of-older generational players. But the beauty of the whole thing to me is we’ve got a lot of good complementary pieces. We’ve got assets, we’ve got young players. So in some ways in terms of our financial stuff, there’s a commitment. But on the whole, we’ll have a lot of flexibility.”
The Warriors explored other moves leading up to the deadline, according to Slater, but they value what veterans on expiring contracts like Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II bring to the locker room.
The rest of the Warriors’ season will also be about replenishing their roster after they were left with four open spots on their 15-man roster. They filled one of those by converting center Quinten Post to a standard deal and Santa Cruz Warrior Kevin Knox could be another consideration, per Slater.
Dunleavy and Lacob both applauded one another for their willingness to be aggressive. This move allowed them to add a star player without sacrificing the likes of Brandin Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga. According to Slater, the Warriors will be able to reassess in the summer and still be in position to make another big move at that point if they see fit.
As for Butler, he expressed excitement about having the chance to play alongside the best shooter in the world in Stephen Curry, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. He’s hoping to make his Warriors debut on Saturday against the Bulls.
“I got a feeling I’m [going to] be back, in a big way, too,” he said. “So I’m smiling. I’ve been going at it, I’ve been training, I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to be doing. I know that I have my joy back now. I’m in a different situation, different group of guys.”
Butler himself was a big winner of the deadline, finding a team willing to pay him big money in a CBA landscape that makes teams have to be more conscious with how they allocate their finances. He and his new team reportedly agreed to a two-year, maximum-salary extension projected to be worth $111MM.
“I’m not going to say that was a big part,” Butler said of his contract playing into his exit from Miami and the new one he received from Golden State. “But I’m happy about it. I am happy about it. I think the biggest part was getting me to be able to play basketball again. I just want to be able to go out there and do what I’ve been doing for a very long time. And have fun, smile, rip and run and not feel like I’m just doing cardio majority of the game. So I’m very, very, very happy that I’m not getting suspended no more.”
Warriors Rumors: Trade Deadline, Green, Butler, Durant
Warriors forward Draymond Green spoke out last month against the idea of “mortgaging off the future” of the team in order to try to win now, telling reporters that’s the sort of thing that “bad organizations” do. However, on Monday, with the February 6 trade deadline just days away, Green said in a post-game media session that he knows team owner Joe Lacob will be eager to try to upgrade a team with an uninspiring 25-24 record.
“We all know he’s pissed sitting at .500,” Green said (Twitter video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). “You’d be a fool to sit back and think everything (is OK). Not with that guy. That guy’s always trying to win. He’s always pushing the envelope as much as he can.
“… Sitting at .500, you’ve got to expect that (the front office) is going to look to be aggressive. It’s not an organization that’s going to do anything dumb, but they’re going to look to be aggressive.”
Reporting on Monday linked the Warriors to starry targets like LeBron James and Kevin Durant, with Shams Charania stating during an ESPN appearance that Golden State is “legitimately calling about every All-Star player.” After seeing what went down in Dallas over the weekend, Green suggests it would be irresponsible not to make those calls.
“Luka Doncic just got traded, so everyone thinks everything is possible at this point,” Green said. “If you saw that and you didn’t call (on) every superstar, you’re crazy. That’s just the reality.”
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported on Sunday that Jimmy Butler trade talks between the Warriors and Heat had “ended for now” after the 35-year-old conveyed that he wasn’t interested in signing an extension with Golden State. However, it doesn’t appear that the idea of Butler landing in the Bay Area is dead. Anthony Slater of The Athletic says the Warriors “believe they are still firmly in the mix” for Butler, while Windhorst himself wrote today at ESPN.com that Golden State remains a possibility for the star forward if the Heat can’t figure out how to make a deal work with the Suns, Butler’s preferred destination.
- If the Suns are unable to acquire Butler, it could impact the Warriors on two fronts. Not only would it make Golden State a more viable landing spot for Butler, but it could make Phoenix more inclined to consider the idea of moving Durant, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who says (via Twitter) that some rival executives believes that’s a real possibility.
- According to Slater, it’s still unclear whether the Suns would really move Durant this week or if he would even welcome a reunion with the Warriors. However, Slater notes that Lacob and Durant’s longtime manager Rich Kleiman were seen chatting during Friday’s Suns/Warriors game and were spotted together at Chase Center’s Bridge Club at halftime and after the game.