As the Golden State Warriors have sought out potential sign-and-trade options for restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, it frustratingly seems as though no team has been able or willing to meet the organization's demands for their prime asset this offseason.
Yet, with new comments from NBA Analyst Sam Vecenie regarding Devin Carter, who was offered to the Warriors by the Sacramento Kings in a potential Kuminga deal, it seems as though Golden State may have dodged a bullet by holding out in hopes of a better package.
Now, although it seems like the Warriors will need to wait until closer to the trade deadline to move Kuminga for any sort of return, they should be able to find a more suitable package as the season wears on.
Devin Carter is not the young player the Warriors are looking for
As Golden State entered the offseason, it was made known that, in exchange for parting from their young forward, they would primarily demand a young player and an unprotected first-round pick. Many teams, including organizations like the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, quickly became disinterested as a result of the overwhelmingly cold market on restricted free agents this offseason.
The Kings, however, stayed in the race, offering a package of Carter, Dario Saric and two second-round picks. Although they later also offered a package of Malik Monk and a protected first-round pick, it seemed as though the Warriors had already decided they were going wait the Kuminga situation out.
Now, according to Sam Vecenie on the Game Theory Podcast, Carter's development has taken a troubling turn that could seriously hurt his value: "I'm more worried about where the shot is going than anything. The shot continues to get hitchier and hitchier... I'm worried that it's going to take some time to work through [his] shoulder injury."
At the time of the trade proposal, Carter seemed like the type of scrappy young player that Golden State might be interested in. While he got a late start to the season last year due to the aforementioned shoulder injury, he played excellent defense as a rookie, making hustle plays and showing an overall willingness to do what it takes to win.
Yet, in his first season with the Kings he shot only 43.9% from the field and 29.5% from 3-point range. Although Golden State could have perhaps used their leverage to have Carter included in the Monk-based version of the trade, the front office must have seen the issues coming that Vecenie pointed out, fortunately avoiding a disastrous package in return for Kuminga.
While Carter is still a solid young player with lots of room to grow and fix mechanical issues, the Warriors need either extremely high-upside, raw young talent or polished, plug-and-play pieces in order to bolster their rotation. Thus, their rejection of the Kings' trade proposals may have been for the best.
Now, however, Golden State must attempt to retrieve a higher value for Kuminga than the packages they turned down this summer.