Despite all the turbulence surrounding this offseason and frankly Jonathan Kuminga's entire career, the Golden State Warriors still want to retain the young forward as his restricted free agency drags on.
Part of that reasoning is to increase flexibility and be able to move Kuminga at a later date once his full salary can count in a trade, but there's also on-court basketball reasons why the Warriors should want to keep Kuminga around.
One of those is the lack of power forwards on the current roster beyond Draymond Green, with Gui Santos the only other option who's yet to fully cement himself as a consistent rotation member. Golden do have another waiting in the wings though, having drafted Alex Toohey with their first selection (No. 52 overall) at this year's draft.
Warriors trading Jonathan Kuminga could fast-track Alex Toohey
Kuminga's departure could leave a real hole at the four, something the Warriors aren't necessarily looking to fill given they're expected free agency signings consist of a center in Al Horford, along with multiple guards like De'Anthony Melton, Seth Curry, Gary Payton and/or Malcolm Brogdon.
That could suddenly give Toohey, even assuming he's on a two-way contract, a real pathway to walk through if he's good enough. Early summer league takeaways suggest that's a long way from happening, yet the ambition for early rotation minutes is still something ESPN's Olgun Uluc drew from a recent interview with Toohey.
"The 6'8 forward has confidence that he can be an impactful player for Kerr from day one. Toohey's play-type theoretically fits the way the Warriors like to operate, with his ability to stretch the floor, make high IQ plays, and guard multiple positions seemingly a perfect addition to Kerr's read-and-react system," Uluc wrote.
The 21-year-old largely struggled throughout summer league, posting 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 21.6 minutes per game while shooting just 26.2% from the floor and 23.5% from 3-point range.
Still, the Warriors drafted Toohey for a reason and he does have two years of professional experience already with the Sydney Kings in the NBL. There's a chance that he's far more effective in a plug-and-play mould with better players around him, rather than necessarily standing out against a lower level of competition.
That's what the Warriors will be hoping anyway, particularly if Kuminga is traded and the roster is suddenly without forward depth which could make Toohey's development all the more important.