Assuming there is no surprise sign-and-trade offer coming their way, the Golden State Warriors need to retain Jonathan Kuminga as the future of the young forward continues to draw speculaltion in free agency.
The need to re-sign Kuminga only becomes all the more important in the wake of Bradley Beal's free agency decision, with the veteran guard rejecting the Warriors and other teams to sign a two-year deal with the L.A. Clippers on Wednesday.
Bradley Beal's move has made the Jonathan Kuminga decision obvious
Golden State desperately need a third scoring option to support Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, particularly throughout a long regular season in a tough Western Conference as the veteran duo enter their age 38 and 36 seasons respectively.
Beal could have provided that for the Warriors, having averaged 17 points on strong efficiency despite what was a disastrous situation with the Phoenix Suns last season. He might have been a better option than Kuminga too given his shooting would have made for a far cleaner fit around the veteran trio of Curry, Butler and Draymond Green.
However, that's now off the table with Beal joining a close divisional rival. The need for a third scorer remains an obvious void and issue for Golden State, with Kuminga appearing the most obvious and realistic option to addressing that.
Veteran duo Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton would be excellent additions for the Warriors, but they're catch-and-shoot threats and play-finishers rather than guys who can go and get a bucket when the offense is bogged down.
Brandin Podziemski has dreams of stepping into a more prominent scoring role, but the young guard struggled once Curry's hamstring injury opened up greater on-ball opportunity during the second-round of the playoffs.
Podziemski shot just 33.9% from the floor and 30.4% from 3-point range in five games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, proving that he's still more so a complementary role player than he is lead offensive option.
Kuminga is the complete opposite. He struggles mightily to fit into a complementary role, but has shown signs of stardom when given the opportunity. When Curry was sidelined against the Timberwolves, the 22-year-old averaged a team-high 24.3 points on over 55% shooting from the floor across the last four games.
Say what you want about Kuminga's fit with Curry, Green and Butler, but there will be times during the regular season where his individual scoring will be important. Combine that with his elite athleticism on a team otherwise bereft of that, and it's becoming more and more obvious that the Warriors need to bring him back as controversial as that would be.