Rumors began to swirl significantly on Wednesday night around a potential Jonathan Kuminga move to the Sacramento Kings, with the pacific rival seemingly holding strong interest in the Golden State Warriors forward.
However, the reported offer from the Kings for Kuminga in a sign-and-trade was, well, underwhelming and bordering on ridiculous. According to Ali Thanawalla and Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports, there was a three-team deal in the works that would have sent Malik Monk to the Detroit Pistons, Kuminga and Dennis Schroder to the Kings, and Dario Saric, Devin Carter and two second-round picks to the Warriors.
The Warriors must ask for Keegan Murray in a Jonathan Kuminga trade
Hopefully Golden State came to their senses and were never close to accepting that deal, with that fortunately appearing like the case given Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported soon after that "there’s nothing near the finish line on the Jonathan Kuminga front as the third night of free agency wraps."
If the Kings are as interested in Kuminga as has been reported over the past 24 hours, then the Warriors only have one obvious counter to their laughable offer -- ask for Keegan Murray in return.
Sacramento and new GM Scott Perry may put down the phone immediately, but it's arguably far less farfetched than the reported offer of Saric, Carter and two second-round picks. In fact, Jack Simone laid out here in late May why a Kuminga-Murray swap makes sense, even before the Kings interest in the 22-year-old became truly apparent.
If the Kings are willing to take a step back next season and give Kuminga the consistent role and playing time he's never had with the Warriors, then it could lead to a spike in the long-term should the young forward take off in a manner he believes he's capable of.
Murray is certainly a better player now and in the short-term, with his 6'8" size and shooting ability making for a far better fit alongside the veteran trio of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
Murray also makes the most sense from a financial standpoint, with his $11.1 million contract for next season making the salary-matching possible despite the constraints of the base-year compensation rule.
With the Warriors seemingly holding little interest in Monk, their stance with the Kings should be clear: Relinquish Murray or shut down negotiations, allowing them to focus on retaining Kuminga for themselves or exploring sign-and-trade scenarios with other teams.