NBA Trade Rumors: Warriors have strong market for surprise asset

The Golden State Warriors, fresh off of their playoff elimination, are rumored to have received strong interest around the league for a surprise player.

The Golden State Warriors‘ goal to repeat as NBA champions didn’t come to fruition, as they were defeated in six games by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. With their season over, there is uncertainty regarding the makeup of the roster, with the statuses of Draymond Green and Jordan Poole very much in question. There’s also the latest report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania that the team and president of basketball operations Bob Myers have had “no substantial contract extension talks in months” and that a split could be looming.

There is a new nugget coming out of the NBA Draft Lottery this past weekend about a player currently under contract with the Warriors.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe mentioned in his latest article (subscription required) that from the conversations that he’s had, “there remains a strong level of interest in Jonathan Kuminga around the league.”

Warriors rumored to be receiving interest for Jonathan Kuminga

In the 2021 NBA Draft, the Warriors had two first-round picks after finishing the prior season with a 39-33 record. Kuminga was selected with the seventh-overall pick after playing one year with the NBA G League Ignite.

Kuminga was mostly an option off the bench for Golden State through his first two seasons in the league. Even though his numbers did increase this past season, he was rarely used in the playoffs. Specifically, he averaged 20.8 minutes per game in the regular season, while averaging just 6.1 minutes in the playoffs.

According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Charania, the Warriors, and Kuminga’s representatives are set to talk about his future, and if the team doesn’t plan on using him in a full-time role, he will want to be traded to a team that will give him that opportunity.

In the regular season, Kuminga averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while recording a 52.5 field goal percentage. As for the playoffs, he averaged 3.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists while shooting 54.2 percent from the field.

The Warriors are going to be the team to follow this offseason, especially as they try to maintain their status as a playoff contender. With all of the questions, we can add another regarding Kuminga’s future with the team.