The whole league is still waiting on the Golden State Warriors to make a move. Right now, they haven’t made a single roster signing, and there is still no resolution in the Jonathan Kuminga contract negotiations. Of course, many believe a Warriors-Al Horford signing is pretty much inevitable, but getting a 40-year-old as your best free agency signing isn’t ideal.
What is even less ideal is that Kuminga seems set on leaving Golden State. He is reportedly even considering taking the qualifying offer, which would essentially mean the Warriors will lose him after this season for nothing.
The Warriors refusal to trade Buddy Hield could come back to hurt them
One way to avoid this is by figuring out a Kuminga trade that brings back some return. Unfortunately, the Warriors haven’t liked any Kuminga sign-and-trade offers so far, and they are extremely limited financially to make a deal happen. Now, a recent report by NBA insider Jake Fischer has brought up another limitation in getting a Kuminga trade done.
“Sources tell The Stein Line, furthermore, that Golden State has refused this summer to even entertain sign-and-trade scenarios that would require it to surrender either Buddy Hield or Moses Moody because of the limited options currently on the roster in terms of proven shooters not named (Stephen) Curry," Fischer wrote.
The Warriors want to keep Moses Moody and Buddy Hield. For Moody, it makes a ton of sense as before he got injured late last season, he was starring in his role as a three-and-D wing for the Warriors.
However, the fact that the Warriors are refusing to put Hield in any Kuminga sign-and-trade scenarios could be a huge mistake. To be fair, Hield had an amazing postseason for Golden State, overcoming inconsistent stretches during the regular season to become one of the teams' most valuable players. This included a heroic Game 7 performance against the Houston Rockets, where he dropped 33 points on nine made threes.
Still, despite showing flashes, Hield is a liability on the defensive end. The Warriors already have an aging core that is declining on that end, and if the Warriors are going to put together a championship roster, they need to prioritize players who can, like Moody, play both ends.
Obviously, Hield is both a fan and locker room favorite on the team. Getting rid of him isn’t something the Warriors should do just because. However, if including him in a larger Kuminga trade is necessary to get value back for Kuminga instead of having him take the qualifying offer and sulking on the bench all season, they need to consider it.
Right now, the Warriors need to prioritize figuring out the best possible outcome of the Kuminga situation. If making Hield untouchable prevents them from that, they need to consider adding him to trade talks.