As trade season approaches for the Golden State Warriors, their biggest trade chip remains controversial young forward Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga's two-year, $48.5 million contract represents the team's best shot at making a splash move this season.
Yet the worries surrounding his ongoing relationship with the coaching staff have yet again come to the forefront. Over the teams' last six games, Kuminga has been benched in five of them, playing just nine minutes against the Phoenix Suns in his lone appearance.
However, according to NBA Insider Jake Fischer, who spoke to numerous NBA executives at the recent G League Showcase, his lack of playing time will likely not have an impact upon his ongoing trade value:
"I polled various executives on the subject and none of them indicated that Kuminga's play over the next few weeks would change their current evaluation of him as an NBA player."Jake Fischer
Needless to say, this is massive news for the Warriors. While Kerr was not likely to bend on his decision in the first place, this means that Golden State will not be putting themselves in an unnecessarily disadvantageous trade position by choosing to limit Kuminga's run over the next few weeks.
Jonathan Kuminga could still land the Warriors a big fish despite concerns about his fit
Since the arrival of Jimmy Butler to The Bay, Kuminga has had a difficult time finding his role with the team. While he is certainly a capable scorer, his lack of a perimeter shot and his sub-par defensive skill-set make him a poor fit in the starting lineup with Butler and Draymond Green.
The cycle of Kuminga's emergence and regression, therefore, has been a frustrating one for the Warriors. In his first 12 games this season, Kuminga looked to have taken large strides forward, averaging 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.8 assists while shootign 48.1% from the field.
Yet after he was sidelined for seven games with bilateral knee tendonitis, he returned to many of the bad habits that made his credibility with the coaching staff tenuous in the first place, leading to his recent benching.
This season the Warriors have a -3.3 net rating with Kuminga on the court compared to a solid 4.9 with him off, according to advanced stat aggregator databallr.
At 15-15, Golden State must do everything within their power to string together victories. It has become clear that the team is better, for the most part, when Kuminga is off the court.
Various teams around the league, including the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, and Chicago Bulls, have shown some level of interest in Kuminga in the past. The fact that valuations around the league will not be changed by this latest stretch of limited play represents a massive factor in the Warriors' ability to shop their biggest trade chip over the next few weeks.