It's becoming fairly clear that the Golden State Warriors are sitting Jonathan Kuminga until an inevitable trade in the coming weeks, with the young forward once again left out of a deep rotation against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Monday.
Kuminga has now racked up four-straight DNPs and seven in his last eight games, having also sat out a game during that period through illness. The latest gut punch comes in that the Warriors used all but one of their 14 players against the Nets, with Kuminga the only available piece left rotting on the bench throughout the entirety of the game.
Warriors are sitting Jonathan Kuminga until inevitable trade takes place
If Kuminga was going to see opportunity again before he becomes trade eligible on January 15, you might have expected it to come against the Toronto Raptors and/or Nets -- two long, athletic teams where the 23-year-old's skillset might have been useful.
Alas, that wasn't the case despite Steve Kerr cycling through all his rotation options in Brooklyn. Fellow young forward Gui Santos was the first man off the bench after two-straight DNPs, while two-way contracted guard Pat Spencer also saw minutes for the first time in three games. Even Buddy Hield saw over 10 minutes after the expectation that he'd be out of the rotation with De'Anthony Melton back in the fold.
Any hope of Kuminga getting back into the rotation and working his way out of a trade scenario has seemingly been extinguished, with NBA insider Marc Stein reporting on Sunday that the Warriors are exploring the best possible deal.
"The Warriors are known to be determined to find the best possible trade headlined by Jonathan Kuminga and his $22.5 million salary (with a $24.3 million team option next season) once the out-of-favor swingman becomes trade-eligible on Jan. 15," Stein wrote.
Perhaps Golden State already have a deal lined up and that's why Kuminga is being left out of the rotation? That's probably unlikely, but we are nevertheless getting to the point where playing him comes with risk in case of an injury that subsequently impacts a potential trade.
After a strong open to the season where he started the first 12 games, Kuminga has only appeared in five games and played less than 90 total minutes since he returned late last month from a seven-game absence due to a frustrating and untimely knee injury.