The Golden State Warriors are winners of three consecutive contests since their up-and-coming athletic forward Jonathan Kuminga sustained a knee injury on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs after 12 minutes of action.
Stephen Curry's 47.5-point average in back-to-back outings against the Spurs would power the team to a pair of massive wins, and Moses Moody's career-high 32-point effort propelled Golden State to a convincing 124-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday in his prolonged absence.
With Kuminga missing from the rotation and the Warriors playing sensational team basketball, the 23-year-old's place on the roster has come into question for the first time since his restricted free agency saga this past offseason.
Golden State's general manager Mike Dunleavy remains positioned to deal the high-flying wing for an established star, and The San Francisco Standard's Tim Kawakami believes that the Sacramento Kings' star scorer DeMar DeRozan could be a tempting addition for an aging group with realistic title aspirations.
"DeRozan is another old guy (36), but he would be a nice complementary wing scorer for Curry and Butler, and he makes just the right amount: $23.4 million this season, with two years after that," Kawakami wrote Thursday.
At the end of the day, Curry and the Warriors' collective goal is to raise yet another championship banner. If the franchise wishes to capture their eighth title (fifth in the Curry-Draymond Green era), a Kuminga-for-DeRozan transaction wouldn't be too far-fetched.
The 36-year-old has not been in a winning situation for the past few seasons, but a move to Golden State and subsequent partnership with Curry and Jimmy Butler could be exactly what the 3-time All-NBA Team selection needs to feel rejuvenated.
In 14 appearances for the lowly 3-11 Kings in 2025-26, DeRozan has contributed an efficient 18.8 points, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals while knocking down 39.4% of his looks from three-point range.
Sure, his outside shot-making success may not prove to be sustainable, but his reputation as a master of the mid-range would still provide a welcome dynamic to the Warriors' offense if a trade were to be agreed upon.
DeRozan's incredible in-between game has remained intact to begin his 17th NBA season, as he's posted a wonderful 55.5% shooting clip from 3-16 feet.
If the Warriors can figure out a way to acquire the NBA's No. 25 all-time point scorer (25,555), there's a chance that his veteran wisdom and patient offensive approach could provide the team with a reliable and historically clutch one-on-one scoring option.
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