By January 15 the Golden State Warriors will have far greater trade flexibility than what they had with Jonathan Kuminga during the offseason, potentially opening up a chance to renew discussions with those rivals that had interest in the young forward during sign-and-trade conversations in recent months.
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer last week, the Phoenix Suns still have interest in Kuminga for when he inevitably becomes available again. This time, however, the Suns will have a potential trade piece they couldn't offer the Warriors during the offseason -- Dillon Brooks.
Warriors could acquire Dillon Brooks in a Jonathan Kuminga trade
Brooks has been a noted rival of Golden State's in recent years, firstly with the Memphis Grizzlies and most recently with the Houston Rockets. He plays the role of villain about as well as anyone in the league, leading to plenty of notable confrontations and verbal stoushes including with Warrior veteran Draymond Green.
Perhaps Golden State would be turned off by their previous experiences with Brooks, particularly when he callously fractured the elbow of Gary Payton II on an unsportsmanlike foul during a second-round playoff series in 2022. Payton re-signed with the Warriors this offseason and would theoretically be a teammate if Brooks wound up in the Bay Area.
Beyond the past experiences though, Brooks actually makes a lot of sense for Golden State as a veteran 6'6" 3-and-D wing who you could foreseeably see fitting from a system standpoint next to Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
He also makes almost the exact same salary as Kuminga this season, allowing the Warriors to potentially take on the 29-year-old in a way they couldn't have this summer due to base-year compensation restraints.
Brooks is far more likely to play big playoff minutes for Steve Kerr than Kuminga is right now, with the former having started in all seven games for the Rockets during their exhilarating first-round series against the Warriors last season.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Golden State front office would have to balance that with Kuminga's far greater upside, and the potential that the former seventh overall pick could go on and develop into a star at a direct pacific rival.
Brooks is yet to play a game in Phoenix after the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade during the offseason, but it's not inconceivable to suggest that the Suns would be willing to do a straight swap given their interest in Kuminga.
What would Golden State do with such an offer? If they get to a point mid-season where they think their one key playoff rotation piece away from legitimate contention, and that player evidently isn't Kuminga, then it might be too good for them to refuse.
It will clearly be dependant on the form of both teams and both players as the season progresses, along with a player like Moses Moody who may become the Brooks-type player that the Warriors want without having to actually make a trade.