The Golden State Warriors might find themselves in a tough situation right now in relation to Jonathan Kuminga's future, but they've certainly been vindicated for rejecting an embarrassing trade package from the Sacramento Kings at the start of the offseason.
The Kings reportedly opened their offers to the Warriors with a combination of Dario Saric, Devin Carter and two second-round picks. While Kuminga saw his first DNP of the season against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, it's been a far greater struggle for Carter and Saric to find minutes despite their presence on a 6-18 Kings team.
Warriors vindicated for rejecting embarrassing Jonathan Kuminga trade
That trade offer from Sacramento was laughable at the time, having promptly been turned down by Golden State who eventually re-signed Kuminga to a new two-year, $48.5 million deal months later after a long free agency stalemate.
Yet that package looks even worse right now, with the NBA futures of both Carter and Saric suddenly in jeopardy beyond this season. The former -- who was taken 13th overall in last year's NBA Draft -- has appeared in only eight games and is averaging 2.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 23.8% from the floor and 18.2% from 3-point range.
Carter certainly hasn't been helped by a guard-heavy Kings roster, but the 23-year-old is probably fortunate the front office has already picked up his third-year team option -- something they may now be regretting given his start to the season.
Saric has averaged 9.3 minutes in only three appearances for Sacramento. That shouldn't come as a surprise given he was rarely utilized by the Denver Nuggets last season, but it still says a lot about the former Warrior given his new team have dealt with injuries to both Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis in the frontcourt already.
Saric's NBA career now appears in jeopardy given he's on an expiring contract, having played nine years in the league which included a sole season with Golden State in 2023-24 where he averaged 17.2 minutes per game.
The Kings did lift their offer for Kuminga to Malik Monk and a protected first-round pick by later in the offseason, but the Warriors were adamant on re-signing the former seventh overall pick. While Kuminga is still very likely to find himself on the move before the mid-season deadline, Golden State should still see a far greater return that what Sacramento had on the table during the summer.