Warriors GM Makes Clear Where Jonathan Kuminga’s Trade Demand Stands With Return to Rotation

Kuminga played in his first game in over a month on Tuesday.

Jonathan Kuminga has re-entered the Warriors’ rotation due to the injury to Jimmy Butler. | John Hefti-Imagn Images

Jonathan Kuminga requested a trade last week, when he became eligible for a move after signing a new contract with the Warriors during the offseason. The move was far from unexpected, as Kuminga had completely fallen out of coach Steve Kerr’s rotation, and hadn’t played since Dec. 18. Monday’s injury to Jimmy Butler has changed the equation for the team, however.

Kerr acknowledged that Kuminga would likely be back in the mix after Butler suffered a torn ACL, and sure enough he returned to court on Tuesday for the first time in over a month. As of this publication, Kuminga had seven points in eight minutes for Golden State, which is being blown out by the Raptors late in the third quarter.

McKeone: Three Realistic Jonathan Kuminga Landing Spots After Warriors Trade Demand

Losing Butler tanks the Warriors’ postseason upside. At 25–19 entering Tuesday night, Golden State currently occupies the No. 8 spot and are likely bound for the play-in tournament for the third time in the last five seasons. It stands to reason that the team will still seek out a deal for Kuminga, but on Tuesday, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. made clear that they won’t give the young forward away for nothing, and a legitimate market must develop for the franchise to make a move.

“As far as the demand, I'm aware of that. In terms of demands, when there's a demand, there needs to be a demand on the market. So we'll see how that unfolds,” Dunleavy said, via Nick Friedell of The Athletic.

Entering the Raptors game, Kuminga averaged 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 43.1% shooting and 32% from three, but Kerr opted against playing him for over a month. Now, he may not have a choice; minutes for the 23-year-old serve both to potentially bolster that trade market and help fill minutes left vacant by the Butler injury.

Much to the chagrin of ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, we definitely haven’t heard the last of the Jonathan Kuminga saga with the Warriors.

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