The Golden State Warriors were officially eliminated from the NBA Playoffs at Target Center on Wednesday night, with attention quickly turning to the offseason where the front office will have some crucial roster decisions to make.
The biggest surrounds the future of young forward Jonathan Kuminga, something that has become far more complicated after the 22-year-old was a rare positive for the Warriors over the final four games against the Timberwolves.
But despite leading Golden State in scoring in the wake of Stephen Curry's hamstring injury, Kuminga's time with the franchise may still have come to an end as he prepares to become a restricted free agent.
The Warriors will reportedly explore Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trades
With few teams outside the Brooklyn Nets holding salary cap space this offseason, the chances of Kuminga walking for nothing appears slim. Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson of The Athletic have also reported on Thursday that owner Joe Lacob's affinity for Kuminga also means that scenario is "nearly impossible."
However, that doesn't mean Kuminga is a guarantee to return to the Warriors, with Slater and Thompson reporting that a sign-and-trade is still well and truly on the cards.
"But both sides are expected to explore sign-and-trade scenarios, those sources said, which would open up the market and theoretically give Kuminga the contract and fresh start he’d desire while bringing the Warriors back rotation players of immediate value," Slater and Thompson wrote.
This revelation should come as no surprise given the way Kuminga's career has played out with Golden State so far. This second-round series proved he's far too talented, and holds far too much potential to simply let him walk for nothing in return, with the former seventh overall pick having averaged 24.3 points on an efficient 55.4% shooting over the last four games.
However, his place completely out of the rotation to start the playoffs also demonstrates the question marks the franchise still has over his ability to fit into a lesser role behind Curry and Jimmy Butler.
Can the Warriors find a sign-and-trade they believe is worthwhile, or do they hope that these last four games are truly something for Kuminga to build on? Either way it's going to be a calculated risk of sorts, particularly given the trio of Butler, Kuminga and Draymond Green creates spacing concerns that couldn't be overcome against the Timberwolves.
Kuminga's future is set to dominate discussion, but the Warriors will also have decisions to make on a number of other players, including championship duo Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II who will become unrestricted free agents.