Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga to Brooklyn Nets Never Made Sense

The Golden State Warriors engaged in sign-and-trade talks with the few teams that were willing and capable of taking on Jonathan Kuminga's desired contract. Among those teams were the Brooklyn Nets, who hold the most cap space in the league.

The proposed trades for the budding star offered insufficient value for the Warriors. Brooklyn was never confirmed to make any offer for Kuminga. Now it seems that Golden State will cut its losses and move forward with him on the roster for the 2025-26 NBA season.

The Golden State Warriors will NOT trade Jonathan Kuminga this summer and plan to have him on the roster next season, per @timkawakami

Warriors owner Joe Lacob remains a fan of Kuminga and will only move him for real value pic.twitter.com/JbE8zMsCoj
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 4, 2025

The reality of the situation for Brooklyn is that taking on the 23-year-old would not have aligned with the current roster's direction.

Nets' General Manager Sean Marks was quoted in the post-NBA Draft press conference, saying they took players who were coachable and eager to get better. While this doesn't mean that Jonathan Kuminga lacks the potential to develop as a player or a strong work ethic, there have been reports indicating that he has experienced difficulties in following instructions.

Draymond Green took him under his wing this past season and struggled to get him to listen at times.

"He should just listen to me," Green said. "It's a slap in the face for me, not in a negative way, just like 'Wake up, you're not listening.'"

The second reason the potential move may conflict with existing plans is the Cam Thomas situation. If the Nets acquired Kuminga, they are unlikely to afford their homegrown talent.

Both players are seeking $30 million annually, and at this point, Brooklyn needs more help in the backcourt than the frontcourt.

Looking at the Nets' current roster construction, these are the players that would compete with Kuminga for minutes: Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, Dariq Whitehead, Jalen Wilson, Drew Timme, Danny Wolf and Drake Powell.

Although Kuminga is better than most players in this group, his salary equals the combined salaries of the others, excluding Porter Jr.

With the Nets' latest draft class, it appears they are embracing a more positionless style of basketball. They took three "point guards" in the first round, but have hope that they can play well together.

Kuminga has limitations in his abilities, which restrict his capacity to play multiple positions or effectively guard a range of players. Over the past three seasons, his three-point shooting has declined, culminating in a career-worst percentage of 30.5% for the 2024-25 season.

Kuminga's fit on mentioned teams:

Bulls: A+
Bucks: A-
Wizards: B+
Kings: C+
Heat: C+
Nets: C+

Jonathan Kuminga (Libra) would be an excellent fit with the Bulls, likely the best overall fit for him; connects well with Coach Donovan, White, Giddey, Buzelis.

The Bucks offer a… https://t.co/EsfvRXnlum
— The Zodiac GM (@TheZodiacGM) July 4, 2025

There can be too much youth on an NBA team, and the Brooklyn Nets will have their hands full with player development this season. Adding Jonathan Kuminga could potentially hinder the growth of other players who have the potential to surpass him. Therefore, the Nets were wise to withdraw from the competition for him.