As the Golden State Warriors have played through their rapid-paced opening stretch to the season, Jonathan Kuminga has looked excellent, averaging 15.5 points, seven rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 54.5% from the field through the team's first two games.
However, after all of the publicity that Kuminga's contentious restricted free agency garnered this offseason, his early-season excellence teases the organization with a difficult question they might need to answer. Do they still seek to trade Kuminga if he is filling a role that the team desperately needs?
Without a doubt, Kuminga's two-year, $46.8 million contract was constructed in order to serve as a trade piece sometime this season. However, as Kuminga continues to show that he might have finally made the leap into being an impact player, it is quite possible that the price that he could command on the trade market would not exceed what he provides to the team at the moment.
Jonathan Kuminga has made the Warriors' trade outlook much murkier
As dynamic of a scorer as Kuminga has proven himself to be throughout his short career, there have been other glaring issues in his game that have prevented him from becoming a highly-trusted member of head coach Steve Kerr's rotation.
These issues, namely his lack of a perimeter shot and a general unwillingness to help facilitate the offense, largely prevented him from playing alongside Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler last season, effectively making it seem as though his time with the Warriors might have come to its conclusion.
Yet, Golden State brough him back in the offseason, and, so far, this decision has paid dividends. In his excellent performance in the team's season opener, Kuminga posted 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists, flashing a depth and roundedness to his skill-set that had very seldom revealed itself through his first four seasons.
If he can keep up this performance, he is exactly, and somewhat ironically, what the Warriors need to complete this iteration of their offense: a slashing, rebounding wing who can step up in a major way when called upon.
Moreover, he has shot 50% from beyond the arc so far this season, and, if this number can hold steady in even the 37-38% range, that could be a game-changing development for his viability as a starter.
Assuming this level of performance is not just a mirage, but indicates a serious step forward on Kuminga's end, Golden State will be left with an exceedingly difficult choice to make over the next year.
Kuminga is only on a two-year contract, and the organization constructed it in such a way that they could flip him for a sharpshooting wing (or high-value draft picks) if the need arose. If the need does not arise, however, is there any room for the relationship between the two parties to be repaired? For Kuminga to resign when his contract expires?
In unsurprising fashion, the relationship between Golden State and Kuminga has now gotten more complicated. At least, this time, it's in a way that helps the team.