The Golden State Warriors had the NBA world buzzing when they pulled off a blockbuster trade for Jimmy Butler — a move that screamed We’re chasing another ring. For a moment, it felt like the dynasty wasn’t done just yet. But months later, that high has flatlined into a deafening silence, and it pinches. The Warriors are so massive that radio silence in the off-season still puts them in the headlines. Is it a point of pride? Not really, because it’s all for the wrong reasons. And it all started the day things actually looked up for the Bay Area collective when they signed Jimmy Butler. But that trade all but wrote Jonathan Kuminga’s destiny on the wall. His tension with Steve Kerr is way too public for it to be false at this point. And the worst part is, there’s no reprieve yet.
“The lineup with Jimmy, Jonathan, and Draymond doesn’t fit real well, frankly. It just doesn’t. We need more spacing,” said Kerr back in April. That’s pretty much been the status quo since. Buckets and Kuminga? Not a chance. So the obvious way out should be a trade, right? Apparently not, as Kerr’s arrogance in dealing with the situation has left Kuminga searching for a place. And if you ask Brian Windhorst, the situation’s as bad as it can be, regardless of the rest of the front office not being on the same page.
“The idea that they’re going to be able to go through a season together, no matter what the situation is in hunky-dory, I would think is a hard belief. At the same time, the Warriors have made it clear that they value him as an asset and they are simply just not going to give him away,” said Windy on The Hoop Collective. But leaving Kuminga for cheap isn’t ideal for the Warriors, and Windy talked next about what they might do in this entire scenario.
“By the way, Kuminga’s is around eight million, his qualifier. The Warriors would prefer as long as it wasn’t crushing them on the tax. The Warriors would prefer to get Kuminga into a contract that they could move similar to what they did a few years ago with D’Angelo Russell.” But this seems far-fetched, too, because back then, the issue wasn’t this complex. “That was a little different because of the Durant deal. The obvious analog in this is the guy McMahon brought up earlier, is Jalen Green. And I don’t think that Kuminga is getting the same amount of money as Jalen Green for a variety of reasons.” But how to pack Kuminga and make it look like a raw deal?
October 20, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (right) talks to forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) during the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
But what Steve Kerr missed is how far the ‘Jonathan Kuminga’ stock has slipped. The talent? No doubt. The minutes? Not so much. And without the floor time to back up the hype, his value’s dipped harder than crypto on a Monday. So here’s the message to Kerr: let the kid cook, boost that trade value, and cash in when it peaks.
“If you’re going to do that kind of a deal and basically you’re trying to flip them as quickly as possible, for value. You gotta play him for the first couple months of the season. You’ve gotta, you don’t have to put him in the starting lineup, but you gotta put him in the rotation. You gotta put him in a situation to be showcased,” said Tim MacMahon on the pod.
The Warriors were chilling at 11th before Jimmy Butler even entered the chat. And when you’re rolling with a legendary core that’s more vintage than prime, time is not your best friend. Their offseason? Suspiciously quiet—like, eerie quiet. But just when fans were about to hit panic mode, three absolute monsters got linked to the Bay. Now that woke people up.
Steve Kerr’s addition of 3 heavyweights might help ease the Jonathan Kuminga pain
This is exactly what the Warriors needed. They’re in Lakers mode – try to squeeze every ounce of class they can get from Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Butler himself. They’re in championship mode. So what’s the solution? Add a player with championship pedigree – like Al Horford. But to be fair, he’s been an eventuality waiting to happen. So has De’Anthony Melton. What really sent their ring hopes into overdrive were the links to Bradley Beal.
Beal’s already spoken of this – he really wouldn’t mind the Warriors now that he agreed to a buyout with the Suns. “According to a league source, the list of teams Beal has thought about includes the LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Milwaukee Bucks,” said the Athletic’s Fred Katz. So Horford, Beal, and Melton – does that seem good enough for the Dub Nation?
“The Golden State Warriors are expected to end up with BOTH Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton while still having interest in Bradley Beal, per @TheSteinLine,” said Fullcourtpass on X. It might be a short-term Hail Mary from Steve Kerr, but the Golden State Warriors have been hungry for a championship for a while now. And Steph’s not getting any younger, despite his brilliance at 37 years of age. The only problem is Jonathan Kuminga’s destiny, which seems to have been written eons ago.
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