Finding potential Jonathan Kuminga trade partner proves elusive for Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Jonathan Kuminga is skilled and talented, a basketball superstar-in-waiting who is being subjected to malicious detention by his employers. Once liberated from the Warriors, he will be given space to blossom.
If the rest of NBA reached this conclusion and began competing for the right to add Kuminga, the Warriors take the best offer and general manager Mike Dunleavy and coach Steve Kerr would kiss each other until their lips bled.
There is, however, no such frenzy. There is no love being shown toward Kuminga. Which has him going through practices and sitting on the bench for games in which he does not play – and some fans wondering if Kerr is being punitive.
Of the other 29 teams in the NBA, only the Sacramento Kings have shown interest in acquiring Kuminga, according to league sources. That the Kings are alone on this island makes a statement on its own – use your imagination – but Sacramento general manager Scott Perry is eager to shed high-salaried veterans and begin a rebuild.
The other 28 teams have shown no more than tepid interest, sources say, leaving the market for Kuminga even cooler now than it was last July, when he was a restricted free agent hoping for an offer sheet that never came.
“I hope [Kuminga] figures it out,” one NBA scout tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “But I’ll tell you what: Nobody in the league, none of us, can figure him out – because the Warriors can’t figure him out.”
So, here we are, six months and nine days later, with the Warriors and Kuminga still operating under the same roof, breathing the same air. All parties are generally cordial, according to sources, but it’s clear their differences are irreconcilable. There is “Good morning” and “Good night,” with too many empty hours in between.
Now, as then, Kuminga wants out as soon as possible, and the Warriors would like to move him the moment he is eligible to be traded on Jan. 15. CEO Joe Lacob remains a fan of Kuminga, but Dunleavy is hoping for a call that leads to farewell transaction that brings at least a high-level role player to Golden State.
Until such a call comes, if it does at all, Kuminga and the Warriors must share what only can be described as a generally peaceful but ultimately dreadful existence.
“It’s tough for the kid,” one former NBA player still employed within the league tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s not a bad kid, but he’s not in a good situation. Golden State has tried different things, but nothing has worked for them or for him.”
Kuminga opened the 2025-26 NBA season in the starting lineup and remained there for 13 games, averaging 13.8 points, on 47.8-percent shooting, including 32.4 percent from deep, and 6.6 rebounds per game. He was holding his own on offense, but all but two of his assists were offset by a turnover before he left the lineup due to bilateral knee tendinitis.
He missed seven games, returning on Nov. 29 against the New Orleans Pelicans. Kuminga played in the next four games, with one start, but shot 30 percent from the field (12 of 40), including 30.8 percent (4 of 13) from distance.
Kuminga, 23, has played only once since Dec. 6, coming off the bench for 10 minutes on Dec. 18 against the Suns in Phoenix. The last time he was slated to be in the rotation, Jan. 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was a late scratch with back soreness.
Though Kerr this week said there “is a path” for Kuminga to get back in the rotation, all signs indicate that path is through an injury to or absence of a teammate. Barring that, Kuminga likely will remain tied to the bench until he no longer is a Warrior.
Golden State had hoped Kuminga could fill a role, to be an eager on-ball defender on one end and on the other end a slasher who complements an offense guided by the principle of harmonious ball movement to maximize the impact of team touchstone Stephen Curry.
The Warriors, in their sepia dreams, longed for Kuminga to aspire to their version of Alex Caruso or Jaden McDaniels or Ausar Thompson. An athletic, disruptive defender capable of spectacular scoring highlights.
But Kuminga wants to be a star with the ball in his hands. He left The Democratic Republic of the Congo for the United States as a 14-year-old with hoop dreams. He was mesmerized by repetitive viewing of video highlights of Kobe Bryant. Similar size, similar athleticism and . . . visualization took it from there.
More than nine years later, with 6,118 NBA minutes behind him, Kuminga’s handle is unsteady, his shooting spotty and his decision-making, despite signs of improvement, still is considered a weakness.
There is no way Kuminga can be the lead member of a Warriors team with three Hall of Famers, with Stephen Curry being the established centerpiece. Moreover, there is no evidence Kuminga can be the lead member of a contender.
“There are some guys that are just really good when they’re in that No. 3 role,” one front office executive tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “And sometimes they try to be in that No. 2 role or No. 1 role. And it’s too much for them. Jamal Crawford’s a good example. Whenever he was put in position to be the lead guy, he didn’t win. But when he was that guy off the bench, scoring, everybody loved him.”
Kuminga is a good soul who gets his share of love from teammates; Jimmy Butler III has served as a mentor. But the cold truth is that NBA teams have known for months that Kuminga was available, and the Warriors have yet to see an offer that implied a potential trade partner loved him.
If that were the case, this ongoing months-long saga, bereft of joy, would not exist.
