The Golden State Warriors entered the season thinking they'd trade Jonathan Kuminga before the Feb. 5 deadline. The forward clearly also thought the same, as he demanded a trade the day he became eligible, Jan. 15. However, here we are a little over a week from the deadline, and a trade doesn't seem as likely as it did a few months ago.
The plan was to flip Kuminga in a deal for an upgrade, as in a proven rotation player, but that won't happen, not since he went nearly a month without playing in a game. He played in the game after Jimmy Butler got injured, and in the following game, he got hurt. His trade value is even lower than what it was a week ago, so for the Warriors to get the upgrade they once envisioned, it'd require attaching assets to Kuminga.
In other words, Golden State won't get the return it needs in a Kuminga deal to be a threat in the West, and that would've been the case even if Butler didn't get hurt.
There is no realistic Kuminga trade that could help the Warriors
Golden State announced on Sunday that Kuminga had a bone bruise in his left knee and will be re-evaluated sometime in "the coming days." He could be out past the trade deadline, eight days away, or he could return right before then.
Anthony Slater of ESPN reported on Tuesday that team sources said it is "less likely" now that the Warriors will trade Kuminga before the deadline than it was before Butler got hurt, something fans already knew. He did say that the forward is still available on the market, but highlighted how Mike Dunleavy isn't willing to make a "bad value deal" just to grant Kuminga's trade wish. Any trade involving Kuminga would fall under that category.
There is no trade coming that will save Golden State and vault it back into the contender conversation, especially one involving Kuminga. Even the Kings aren't as interested as they were over the summer, as Slater also reported that there haven't been recent trade discussions between the two sides. Golden State doesn't want Malik Monk or DeMar DeRozan.
At this point in the never-ending Kuminga saga, all the Warriors can hope for is that he'll return soon and will boost his value between now and the end of the season so they can trade him over the summer (after picking up his team option). That's not the kind of hope fans wanted. They hoped Kumigna would yield a positive return for Golden State, but that isn't happening.