Why the Hornets should consider this trade
Finding a team willing to give up genuine assets for Kuminga is difficult right now. If you're a veteran team in contention (e.g. the Kings), you don't necessarily have the financial capacity to risk a huge extension for the 21-year-old. If you're a team in rebuilding mode (e.g. the Jazz), you don't want Kuminga helping you win games and harming your chances of the best possible lottery odds.
That leaves a small window of teams that could be interested. Perhaps the Hornets are one of those, having already missed the postseason in each of the last eight years. In a recent interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, last year's second overall pick Brandon Miller outlined his expectation that Charlotte will be a playoff team next season.
That may be slightly unrealistic for most fans to consider, but another tanking season may not prove worthwhile for the Hornets. If they get any relative health from Miller, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, it's very difficult to see them being worse than the Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards or Brooklyn Nets, while they could also lay claim to being better than the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, and Atlanta Hawks. All of a sudden you're talking about a team that's in the Play-In Tournament mix.
As a result they could be motivated to accelerate their rebuild by trading for someone like Kuminga, giving up a couple of future picks in the process. They'd have a starting quartet of Ball, Miller, Bridges and Kuminga which could be extremely fun but also work as a legitimate team with playoff aspirations in a weak Eastern Conference.
Giving up Cody Martin and two first-round picks (one of which isn't yours) is a reasonable price for a player like Kuminga who still holds All-Star potential, even if by trading for him you acknowledge the need to offer a sizeable extension.
Would the Warriors complete the puzzle to this three-team trade if given the opportunity?