The Jonathan Kuminga saga has lastly come to an in depth (type of) because the soon-to-be 23-year-old agreed to a two-year, $48.5 million deal with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, with the second yr being a crew choice. This case can solely be categorized as “type of” resolved, after all, as a result of questions stay.
Listed below are three principal ones.
1. Will Kuminga nonetheless be traded?
The sensible cash says sure. The Warriors, exterior of Joe Lacob, don’t seem in any approach dedicated to Kuminga and Kuminga did the whole lot he might to get away from the Warriors. It is a lack-of-options marriage, and when and if it might probably finish in any type of helpful approach for the Warriors, they will probably pull the set off.
Till that occurs, nonetheless, either side are extremely incentivized for Kuminga to play properly. If that occurs, Golden State both has a significant contributor heading into the playoffs on a team-friendly deal or a high-value commerce chip. Kuminga, in the meantime, is auditioning for his subsequent contract; that is why he settled on the two-year deal as a substitute of the three years Golden State was additionally providing (with the third yr being the crew choice), as a result of he desires to ensure free company a yr sooner. He is also a much more enticing participant for groups that may be trying to commerce for him through the season with that second yr assured from a crew perspective, which might not have been the case had Kuminga take the one-year, $7.9 million qualifying provide.
All of that is to say, it is a deal that’s structured to maintain the opportunity of buying and selling Kuminga at any level earlier than the February deadline alive and properly. It feels quite a bit like when the Warriors took again D’Angelo Russell within the signal and commerce for Kevin Durant in the summertime of 2019. They by no means needed Russell. He by no means match with the best way Golden State performs. The plan, it doesn’t matter what they stated publicly, was at all times to commerce him. It appears probably that’s nonetheless the plan with Kuminga, as properly. This has simply purchased them some extra time.
2. What is going to Kuminga’s function be?
That is fascinating. For the primary few months of the season, will the Warriors be extra inclined to make use of Kuminga in a approach they consider helps the crew essentially the most, or in the best way that can higher spotlight Kuminga’s strengths in an effort to lift his commerce worth?
It is unlikely that he’ll begin, which Kuminga has brazenly said he desires the chance to do. Even with Al Horford being a bonafide 3-point shooter at middle (this an enormous addition for Golden Sate that would legitimately have championship implications) and Steph Curry principally offering the spacing of 1 and a half gamers, it is onerous to start out a lineup with three non-shooters. Jimmy Butler and Draymond Inexperienced are in. That fifth man is more likely to be a extra succesful shooter. Brandin Podziemski. Perhaps even Buddy Hield.
Thats stated, Steve Kerr has already talked this summer time about being extra open to lineups that embody each Butler and Kuminga this season. Final yr, as soon as Butler arrived, Kuminga was all however faraway from the rotation as Kerr did not like the shortage of spacing that pairing supplied.
However as soon as Curry went down and Kerr had no alternative, Kuminga confirmed within the Minnesota sequence that he can thrive alongside anybody if he’s assured and attacking. That is the important thing. Not a lot whether or not Kuminga begins and even finishes video games, however that every time he’s on the ground, he is put able to do what he does greatest.
If Kerr nonetheless desires him to be the off-ball cutter and occasional secondary scorer that Kuminga believes is beneath his expertise, it is honest to query simply how dedicated Kuminga might be to that function, even understanding that he has an incentive together with his subsequent contract to play in addition to doable whereas he is underneath this one. He may take a look at and hope the Warriors discover the state of affairs untenable sufficient to commerce him for minimal return worth.
But when he feels prioritized, even in smaller methods, and he will get off to a great begin and the vibes are good and his confidence is excessive, he could possibly be a Sixth Man of the 12 months candidate. That may be the optimum consequence for the Warriors, even when Kuminga will not just like the sound of “Sixth Man.”
3. How a lot can Kuminga assist the Warriors?
A ton. I do not care what anybody says. He’s the one man on the crew who can do what he does as an athletic, forceful shot creator and above-the-rim finisher. It is a straight-up senior-citizen squad. Kumimga’s pop is a possible main swing issue for a crew with championship aspirations.
Sure, the Warriors held off on buying and selling him this summer time as a result of they could not get sufficient worth again. However there’s additionally part of that whole group that understands Kuminga’s potential and is hesitant to throw within the towel on the concept of it coming to extra constant fruition.
If it does, be careful. As a result of the Warriors have the whole lot else. The Horford signing is gigantic. Curry and Butler have been top-of-the-line duos within the league earlier than Curry bought damage within the second spherical. Butler has proven he’s not a man that desires to take over as a scorer in non-Curry lineups, and Kuminga taking cost of that accountability could possibly be the distinction between a second-tier and a top-shelf contender if he stays with the crew previous the commerce deadline.
