The Golden State Warriors have drawn plenty of criticism in the immediete aftermath and in the months following February's Jonathan Kuminga trade, but Steve Kerr's extension with the franchise at least offers some reprieve.
The relationship between Kuminga and Kerr, and the latter's lack of faith in the young forward, was arguably the biggest factor in the Warriors trading the 23-year-old to Atlanta, along with Buddy Hield, in exchange for veteran center Kristaps Porzingis.
It would have been a terrible look, therefore, if Kerr had turned around and departed his role as Golden State head coach just months after Kuminga's near five-year tenure with the franchise came to an end.
Jonathan Kuminga trade doesn't look so bad after Steve Kerr extension
Had Kerr left which many speculated and believed after the Warriors were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the Play-In Tournament last month, then hindsight would say the franchise should have simply kept Kuminga with the hope a new coach could embrace him and unlock his skillset in a far more considerable way.
Now that Kerr has signed a two-year contract extension to remain coach, the Golden State front office can at least look back and acknowledge they made the right decision to move on from Kuminga. Had the Warriors persisted with their former seventh overall pick, it would almost assuredly have led to even more stalled development thanks to an inconsistent role and playing time.
This doesn't take away from the fact the front office should have traded Kuminga earlier and when he held greater value, with multiple instances where they could have dealt him for a win-now piece (perhaps mostly notably OG Anunoby or Alex Caruso).
Golden State ultimately traded Kuminga for Porzingis who, while a productive and valuable player on the floor, has been riddled by injury and health concerns that limited him to just 32 combined games with the Hawks and Warriors this season.
Jonathan Kuminga trade still has more to play out
The reality is that the Kuminga-Porzingis trade still needs more time to be properly evaluated. The Warriors must have had some regret when they watched Kuminga play a stunning role in Games 2 and 3 of the Hawks first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, but he then struggled over the final three games as Atlanta fell to a 4-2 defeat.
The Hawks now have a decision to make on Kuminga's $24.3 million team option for next season, while the Warriors may have some tricky conversations ahead in trying to re-sign Porzingis as an unrestricted free agent.
In the meantime, re-signing Kerr at least holds off some regret from a trade that could still come back to significantly haunt Golden State over the coming years.
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