It seems all but certain that the Golden State Warriors are going to trade Jonathan Kuminga as soon as they're able to when he is eligible to be moved on January 15. Yet despite strong links to the Sacramento Kings dating back to the offseason, the young forward should really be hoping he's not sent to the pacific rival.
The Kings were long rumored as a sign-and-trade destination in the summer when it seemed like the Warriors weren't going to be able to come to some sort of agreement with their former seventh overall pick.
Kuminga should hope Warriors don't trade him to Sacramento
Ultimately, the Warriors and Kuminga were able to work something out, but the team was obviously smart to include an off-ramp in the deal (second-year team option) in case things took a turn for the worse which is exactly what's happened.
After a promising start to the season, Kuminga began to struggle and then got hurt. After that, head coach Steve Kerr has used him sparingly and now he's not being used at all with his fate now abundantly clear. The Warriors cannot afford to have Kuminga get injured and potential prevent him from being traded, which is why he's now riding the bench until a deal is struck.
The Kings reportedly are still one of the teams with some interest in Kuminga, but the 23-year-old may not love going there. The Kings are currently 8-29 on the season, leaving it as a less than ideal situation to be entering.
The unfortunate thing for Kuminga is that the only teams likely to be interested in him are teams that are struggling, in the process of rebuilding and who are willing to take a bet on his talent and provide an extended look.
That could prove beneficial for Kuminga so he can show off his skills and eventually work his way onto a stronger team, but it may be hard to prove his worth if there isn't a ton of talent around him. The Kings certainly have a dearth of talent, so it will be difficult for Kuminga to thrive in that environment.
Unfortunately, beggars can't be choosers so Kuminga may have no other choice than to go to a bad team like the Kings. At this point, he probably just wants to play, meaning any change of scenery will be a welcome one for the forward who just never quite panned out with the Warriors.