The 17-16 Golden State Warriors have yet to escape mediocrity throughout the 2025-26 NBA season as the Feb. 5 trade deadline continues to inch closer.
Through 33 games, head coach Steve Kerr's 'fading dynasty' has done little to provide their legendary 37-year-old guard Stephen Curry with suitable supporting pieces.
However, a recent trade concept put forth by Dallas Hoops Journal's Jake Rogers suggests that a move to finally end the Jonathan Kuminga trade saga could land the franchise a desperately needed interior force and familiar face from the Dallas Mavericks.
"The Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors are each facing inflection points shaped less by record than by direction," Rogers wrote Sunday.
"That divergence creates the foundation for a conceptually clean trade proposal: a win-now center and veteran shooter returning to Golden State, while Dallas takes on a younger upside wing and a controllable shooting contract."
"The framework would reunite Klay Thompson with the Warriors and send Jonathan Kuminga to Dallas at a moment when his relationship with Golden State appears increasingly strained."
Sure, Kuminga netting the Warriors both Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford is an unlikely event, but the youth-for-experience premise still stands.
In Rogers' hypothetical, Golden State would ship Kuminga to the Mavericks along with Buddy Hield to pair with star rookie wing Cooper Flagg, landing two proven pieces with NBA Finals D.N.A. In the process.
As a result, Curry would once again share the floor with his longtime backcourt running mate and receive a chance to develop chemistry with a dominant lob threat.
Golden State's 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green would also be supplied with a true shot-blocking center to round out their frontcourt in an effort to improve the team's defensive productivity around the basket.
In 31 appearances for Dallas this season, the 5-time All-Star Thompson has contributed just 11.2 points and 2.5 rebounds paired with a career-low 35.4% three-point shooting clip on 7.7 attempts.
As for Gafford, the explosive two-way big man has averaged 8.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while knocking down 63.2% of his looks from the field.
Though it appears to be a worthwhile move for both practical and sentimental reasons for the Warriors, a bigger fish on the trade market could likely draw the attention of their general manager Mike Dunleavy away from Dallas.
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