3 Golden State Warriors who are expendable, and 3 they can't afford to trade
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No. 2: Jonathan Kuminga is expendable
Heading into the season the hype around Jonathan Kuminga was out of control. The team was saying the right things about getting him involved, he was the second-leading scorer in the entire NBA in the preseason, and his skillset and athleticism appeared to be exactly what the Warriors needed. An aging team whose core players relied primarily on savvy and skill over physical dominance needed a young player to come in, jump through the roof of the arena and inject some energy into the proceedings.
Instead of rising into a large rotation role, however, Kuminga has repeatedly been excised to the fringes of the rotation. He is averaging just 20 minutes per game this season, down slightly even from last year. Even on nights when he is playing well he can't crack the crunch-time rotation; Steve Kerr tried him once or twice early in the season and since he has been pulled early in favor of the team's vets.
Kuminga is averaging more shots this season, but his 3-point percentage has dropped off significantly (on a small sample size, but 24.4 percent from 3-point range isn't helping his case). More importantly, Kuminga hasn't been able to improve as a rebounder, the No. 1 thing Kerr and the coaching staff has pointed to for why Kuminga isn't higher in the pecking order. When he takes the court the Warriors collect six percent fewer offensive rebounds and 2.6 percent fewer defensive rebounds.
The team still has hope that Kuminga will develop into a future starter and potentially even an All-Star candidate. That hope means less and less for this season, however, and the goal of maximizing Curry's prime. He will hold value around the league, especially on rebuilding teams. The Warriors will have to consider moving Kuminga in a trade for another player, and given his usage by Steve Kerr thus far this season, Kuminga appears expendable.