Warriors Reportedly Not Interested in 2-Time All-Star Big for Kuminga

The Golden State Warriors can legally trade Jonathan Kuminga starting Thursday, but an insider said Tuesday that no trade is imminent.

Jake Fischer hosted a Bleacher Report Live stream and said "there's not a very robust market" for Kuminga. He mentioned that the Kinga and Lakers are interested, but they don't have players the Warriors would want in return. So the Warriors will probably need to organize a three-team trade, and he mentioned the Bulls as a team they should engage with.

"What type of three-team agreement can Golden State manufacture here? Will they be able to find something with Chicago? There's been a ton of noise about Coby White. ... Is there some type of connection between Chicago, who has definitely liked Kuminga in the past?"

Fischer later added: "The Bulls have always been interested. Will there be enough synergy to get something done? That's the question. I've gotten it pretty reliably that Nikola Vucevic is not going to be enough to make something happen there, for Golden State to send Kuminga to Chicago."

Vucevic is a two-time All-Star center averaging 16.4 points and 9.3 rebounds. The Warriors could use a center upgrade, so let's go over if they are making a good decision by avoiding him.

Warriors Wise to Avoid Vucevic

Vucevic is a decent three-point shooter (38.0 percent this season) and passer (3.7 assists), so on the surface he might seem like a great fit.

The main issue is he'd make a roster that's already lacking in athleticism even more unathletic.

His lack of athleticism shows up most on defense. He's not a good defender when switching onto guards, but he's also overwhelmed by longer, athletic players who can score down low.

His teams have been worse on defense with him on the floor in five of the last seven seasons, per Cleaning the Glass.

On offense, Vucevic is a decent finisher, as he's averaging 8.6 points in the paint per game, per NBA.com. But he's not explosive enough to provide rim pressure, and the Bulls actually have a better offensive rebounding rate when he's off the floor.

If the Warriors lose the Michael Porter Jr. sweepstakes, their options for a Kuminga trade will not be pretty. Even then, they can do better than a trade for Vucevic.

Could the Bulls Facilitate 3-Team Porter Trade?

I came up with this three-team trade idea five days ago:

Warriors Get: Michael Porter Jr., Dalen Terry
Bulls Get: Jonathan Kuminga, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Knicks' 2027 first-round pick (via Bulls)
Nets Get: Coby White, Moses Moody, Buddy Hield, 2026 unprotected first-round pick (via Warriors), 2028 unprotected first-round pick (via Warriors)

I continue to believe that something like this is the most realistic way for the Warriors to land Porter.

Of course, the Warriors could pivot from a Porter pursuit and go after White themselves.

The issue is Golden State is already so guard-heavy, and at 6'4", White isn't capable of defending bigger wings.

So in my proposal, the Nets get White as one of their starting guards of the future and two unprotected firsts, the Bulls get Kuminga and a lower-value first, and the Warriors get Porter.

The Nets might rather wait until the offseason to pursue White, who will be an unrestricted free agent, but if they'd rather get a look at him for about three months before deciding to pay him, this would make sense.