As Jonathan Kuminga's relationship with the Golden State Warriors saw its latest fracture with his benching against the Chicago Bulls in their last game before their break in play for the NBA Cup, the value of the team's most obvious trade chip this season came into question yet again.
Now, while the Warriors seem to remain certain that they will be able to move Kuminga for a difference-making piece when his contract becomes tradeable on January 15th, Bill Simmons, on the latest episode of his podcast, raises an important question. If Golden State doesn't want him, who would?
"Everybody seems to think they can trade him at January 15th for something. Why am I trading for Kuminga? Why do I want to pay him $22 million a year? The Warriors won't even play him, and they need somebody like him..."Bill Simmons
While Simmons might be assessing the situation somewhat harshly at this point, given the time that Kuminga has between now and the trade deadline to prove his value, his comments do highlight the worst-case scenario for Golden State, and it's a scary one.
What happens if the Warriors can't move Kuminga?
In bringing Kuminga back this season, the hope for the Warriors was that he would follow one of two paths. Firstly, clean up some of the issues that plagued him through his four seasons in the league and become an impactful contributor to the team that filled their dire need for a slashing, defending wing.
If that plan failed, which it was likely to, their hope was almost certainly that Kuminga would score well enough, despite his questionable fit with the starters, that they could flip his two-year, $46.8 million contract into a player that would prove to be an impactful contributor.
Yet, at this point in the season, neither of these outcomes look to be the way this saga is headed, and that could be absolutely disastrous for the Warriors.
In the four games he played between his return from injury and his benching, Kuminga averaged 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and two assists while shooting an abysmal 30% from the field. It appears as though, at least for the time being, some of his old habits have come back to bite him.
The worst part is that, if Kuminga were willing to pass the ball more often and play more active defense, he would represent the exact injection of youth and dynamic scoring ability that Golden State's aging roster so desperately needs.
Yet, this returns us to the question that has seemingly been asked as long as Kuminga has been on the roster. If the Warriors don't see value in him as a playable asset, why should anyone else?
As of now, there are various teams, including the Sacramento Kings, rumored to have lingering interest in Kuminga. If that changes with this latest benching, what kind of spot will Golden State be stuck in? Do they truly have any other pieces they can swap or aggregate for a difference-making player this season?
Not contracts that are as trade-tailored as Kuminga's.
Therefore, the tanking of Kuminga's trade value represents a worst-case scenario for the Warriors, and, if things continue this way, it could become a real possibility.