Buying or Selling 4 Kuminga Trade Ideas for Expiring Contracts

The Golden State Warriors are just about guaranteed to trade Jonathan Kuminga by the Feb. 5 trade deadline, and ESPN's Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported that they are "prioritizing expiring contracts" in return for him.

If that's truly their objective this trade season, their options are extremely limited.

Among teams that are clear sellers and/or rumored Kuminga landing spots, I took a look at their rosters and wrote down every somewhat realistic potential trade target for the Warriors.

Here are the 15 names with their salaries:

Nikola Vucevic, $21.5 million
Jusuf Nurkic, $19.4 million
Rui Hachimura, $18.3 million
Zach Collins, $18.1 million
Robert Williams III, $13.3 million
Coby White, $12.9 million
Matisse Thybulle, $11.6 million
Gabe Vincent, $11.5 million
Maxi Kleber, $11 million
Georges Niang, $8.2 million
Kevon Looney, $8 million
Ayo Dosunmu, $7.5 million
Day'Ron Sharpe, $6.3 million
Haywood Highsmith, $5.6 million
Keon Ellis, $2.3 million

Using this group, I came up with four trade ideas and then decided to buy or sell them from Golden State's perspective.

Lakers Proposal

Warriors get: Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber
Lakers get: Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield
Jazz get: Jaxson Hayes, 2032 second-round pick (via LAL)

Warriors' verdict? Sell

Hachimura and Kleber would give the Warriors some needed size, but they aren't options to guard wings or defend the rim.

Hachimura's shooting (43.3 percent from three) would be useful, but it comes with a minus-1.3 Defensive EPM that ranks in the 11th percentile in Dunks and Threes' database.

The Warriors have to do better than this.

Jazz Proposal

Warriors get: Jusuf Nurkic, Georges Niang
Jazz get: Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield

Warriors' verdict: Sell, but not totally outrageous

Niang has yet to appear in a game this season with a foot injury, so the only way the Warriors consider this is with the knowledge that he's returning soon.

Nurkic and Draymond Green have some bad blood, so I doubt this would be Green's first choice.

Nurkic has been an underrated defenseive player his whole career. His teams have been better on defense with him on the court in all but two stints, per Cleaning the Glass.

Assimilating Nurkic into the offense would not be easy, as he's simply not a floor-spacer.

Niang shot 40.6 percent from three last season, but I'm sure the Warriors would want a more traditional wing defender than Niang for Kuminga.

Blazers Proposal

Warriors get: Robert Williams III, Matisse Thybulle
Blazers get: Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield

Warriors' verdict: Sell, but getting closer

Thybulle hasn't played since October due to thumb and knee injuries, so just like with Niang, the Warriors would have to know he's nearing a return to make this trade.

When healthy, Thybulle would fit well as a disruptive defender, but he's shooting just 34.5 percent from three in his career. He'd have to shoot better than that to have a consistent role.

Williams is a rim protector the Warriors simply don't have, and the fact that he's playing just 15.9 minutes per game is not a deterrent considering Golden State would likely continue to give some center minutes to Quinten Post, Al Horford and Green.

Bulls Proposal

Warriors get: Coby White, Zach Collins
Bulls get: Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, Trayce Jackson-Davis, 2026 first-round pick

Warriors' verdict: Buy, with some hesitation

I have never considered White a major Warriors target because he's a 6'4" guard and Golden State already has enough guards in its rotation.

But there's no denying how impactful he would be offensively, as he's averaging 19.5 points and 4.8 assists on 36.7 percent from three over the last three seasons.

Collins is likely out until late February with a toe injury, but if healthy, he might be a better fit than Vucevic because he's more mobile defensively. It's also easier to make this trade work with Collins because he's making $3.4 million less than Vucevic.

It's fair to question how much better the Warriors are getting here while having to give up a first-round pick. That dovetails into the final subhead.

The Warriors Can't Seriously Be Targeting Only Expiring Contracts

The one big draw about Kuminga is his contract structure. Many teams would like to get off a contract that extends to 2026-27 or even 2027-28, and getting Kuminga in return would accomplish that goal, as the receiving team can simply decline his team option this offseason.

If the Warriors don't entertain players under contract through at least 2026-27, then I don't see how they get good value in ANY Kuminga trade.

There's no competitive reason to take back only expiring contracts unless the Warriors want space to give De'Anthony Melton a huge free-agent contract. But doing that hamstrings what they can get right now.

Perhaps the Golden State front office is posturing, but there's a distinct possibility this report is accurate, which would mean team governor Joe Lacob would rather clear the books for the offseason than give this team a better chance to win.