As the Golden State Warriors have sought out a potential sign-and-trade involving restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga this offseason, many teams that were thought to be suitors for the young forward have stayed out of trade conversations entirely.
Accordingly, the Utah Jazz, who could offer an immense package in exchange for Kuminga and grant him the runway he desires, have likely had one primary reason for staying out of these negotiations: their evident faith in second-year player Kyle Filipowski.
Filipowski, 21, has certainly had some question marks thus far in his short career, but, given his strong performance as a rookie and his recent dominance in Summer League, it is quite possible that Utah has not shown interest in Kuminga as a result of the overlap between the two players.
Utah's faith in Kyle Filipowski could be killing the Warriors' shot at a Kuminga trade
Filipowski, who fell the second round after various character concerns tanked his draft stock, was snatched up by the Jazz with the 32nd pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.
In a solid rookie season, the power forward averaged 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 35% from 3-point range on just 21.1 minutes per game.
Now, with the team having already dealt both John Collins and Collin Sexton for sub-par returns, it is apparent that the new regime in the organization is attempting to offload their veterans in order to create ample playing time for their developing young players. Along these lines, it is quite possible that Lauri Markkanen could be the next to be dealt despite his hefty contract.
If this is the case, the development that Filipowski has shown already in his young career should give Utah hope that he can take over four-spot in the starting lineup.
Through six Summer League games between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, Filipowski absolutely dominated, averaging 23.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists while improving his 3-point shooting to 36.1%.
Therefore, although Kuminga can certainly be a dominant scorer if given the proper runway, Utah's new M.O. lies in developing their draft capital, effectively making a trade for Kuminga redundant.
Given the Warriors' stated asking price of a young player and a first round pick, this is a real tragedy. Not only do the Jazz have a plethora of young talent, including Cody Williams, Brice Sensabaugh and Taylor Hendricks, but they also have eight first-round picks across the next four drafts.
It now appears that Golden State will need to find a way to, potentially disastrously, bring Kuminga back into the fold next season, and the Jazz's commitment to Filipowski could be a significant reason why.