Jonathan Kuminga is all-in after essentially holding the Golden State Warriors hostage during the offseason.
However, there’s no guarantee the feeling will be mutual during the 2025-26 season, which could result in the Dubs parting ways with the 22-year-old forward in January or February.
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz predicts that Golden State will trade Kuminga to the worst team in the NBA when it’s all said and done.
“The Washington Wizards have done an admirable job of making low-risk trades for players with upside, most notably by acquiring Cam Whitmore from the Houston Rockets and Dillon Jones from the Oklahoma City Thunder,” Swartz wrote Tuesday.
“Getting Jonathan Kuminga from the Golden State Warriors would be a supersized version of this strategy, and he's already experienced far more success in the NBA to this point.”
“Trading for Kuminga and seeing how he operates with the ball in his hands more is a no-lose situation for a Wizards team not interested in winning games this season. The upside is worth gambling on.”
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From a team success perspective, Kuminga would be miserable with the Wizards.
The talent-deprived Eastern Conference franchise finished with an 18-64 record last season and is expected to experience a similar fate this year.
Kuminga, who secured a championship with the Warriors in 2022, is used to being in a competitive NBA environment.
While the former lottery pick would unquestionably be a top-scoring option in D.C., his contributions wouldn’t contribute to winning, considering there wouldn’t be enough high-level assets around him.
However, a hypothetical deal would be a win for the Wizards and Warriors. The Wizards would receive a valuable rebuilding piece while Golden State would get to cut ties with a 6-foot-7 forward who has never been a great fit with the franchise.
Unfortunately, Kuminga would be the lone loser in this scenario.
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