While the Golden State Warriors were in a tough position at the NBA trade deadline last month and felt somewhat forced to trade away Jonathan Kuminga, they may come to regret that decision in a way they do not fully realize.
Kuminga had requested a trade and clearly the relationship between he and head coach Steve Kerr had reached a place where it was no longer salvageable. But if the Warriors really want to make a push to trade for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer, they may really regret burning one of their most valuable trade assets.
Warriors may have needed Kuminga to pull off Giannis trade
As things stand, it will be really tough for the Warriors to land Giannis. They have some appetizing draft capital to offer, but in terms of actual players in a potential deal, they’d probably have to include veteran Draymond Green -- who clearly seems to be on the decline -- for salary matching purposes and/or maybe a young guy like Brandin Podziemski who is a Milwaukee native.
Even with all the picks also thrown in, that’s probably not enough to get a deal done especially since there are other teams out there with more enticing young players who could be included in a deal. That puts the Warriors at a disadvantage in any negotiations.
Keeping Kuminga would not have made a trade for Giannis a slam dunk by any stretch. The Warriors probably would have had to play him if they kept him after the trade deadline just to try to build his value up ahead of a potential trade. Unfortunately that just was not a viable plan given the fact that Kuminga wanted out.
The Warriors also have to reckon with the fact that a trade for Giannis may be the only way they can contend for another title. If the Warriors went into next season with a “big three” of Stephen Curry, Giannis and Jimmy Butler, understanding that Butler would probably miss at least half the season as he recovers from an ACL tear, they’d have to feel pretty good about things.
Making that a reality is going to be hard though, if not impossible. The Warriors should definitely try to keep their options open and explore other ways to improve the team outside of Giannis. They can’t put all of their eggs in that basket.
Keeping Kuminga would not have made a Giannis deal a sure thing, but it at least would have given the Warriors one more asset to dangle as they chase their white whale.