With the NBA Draft concluding on Thursday night where the Golden State Warriors took Alex Toohey and Will Richard late in the second-round, even more focus will now turn to the future of Jonathan Kuminga just days from the start of free agency.
The only guarantee at this point is that the Warriors won't be letting Kuminga walk for nothing, even if the Brooklyn Nets unexpectedly came in and tried to sign him outright as the only team with legitimate cap space.
If the young forward is to depart Golden State in the next week or later in the offseason, it will assuredly be through a sign-and-trade where the franchise gets something in return as they look to build their roster around the veteran trio of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
The Warriors might trade Jonathan Kuminga for less than he's worth
Yet even if the Warriors do execute a sign-and-trade involving Kuminga, that's not to say that fans will be thrilled with what the front office obtains in return. In fact, it could be an awful situation where fans are left furious with the trade return.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Warriors Plus Minus podcast, Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard outlined his belief that the complicated relationship between player and franchise could result in the 22-year-old leaving cheaply.
"I just think it would be too complicated, too difficult to have him back in that locker room on a short-term deal," Kawakami said. "It could get even worse as these negotiations go. You may have to sell at 50 cents on the dollar."
Losing Kuminga for "50 cents on the dollar" would be an unmitigated disaster given Golden State used the seventh overall pick on him in 2021. It would be made even more frustrating given there's been plenty of times over the last four years where the Warriors could have traded Kuminga for real value, but chose to retain him and continue investing in his development.
There's also the fact that Kuminga showed signs of stardom during the second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves after Stephen Curry went down with injury, having averaged a team-leading 24.3 points on over 55% shooting across the last four games.
It's the risk of losing a potential star that the Warriors have to balance against the still very questionable fit of Kuminga with the veteran core, but make no mistake that simply moving him without adequate value could be a decision that sets the franchise back a long way.