Why Kuminga Can't Be Traded Until Jan. 15 and Other Warriors Trade Restrictions

The Golden State Warriors would love to trade Jonathan Kuminga right now, but they can't.

The following explains why he can't be traded until Jan. 15 and goes over key trade restriction deadlines for other Warriors and Golden State trade targets.

Why Kuminga Can't Be Traded Yet

ESPN's Bobby Marks explained why certain players have a Jan. 15 trade restriction:

"The majority of players who signed a contract in the offseason have a Dec. 15 trade restriction. The Jan. 15th restriction is for free agents who signed with their own teams (with either Bird or early Bird rights) and a contract that is 120% greater than the previous season."

Kuminga was making $7.6 million last season, and he's making $22.5 million this season. That's almost 300 percent greater, so he easily qualified for the Jan. 15 restriction.

The Warriors' predicament is likely one of the reasons the NBA made it so certain re-signed players couldn't be traded until later into the season.

The Warriors are currently giving Kuminga DNPs and counting the days until they can trade him. They essentially re-signed him just to trade him, which isn't fair to Kuminga, who couldn't get away from Golden State because he was a restricted free agent. The Warriors likely would have matched any offer sheet he signed, and in the end he settled for the two-year, $46.8 million Golden State contract offer (team option in the second year) because he didn't have another decent choice.

The Warriors will likely get their desired result—a Kuminga trade in mid-January—but the extra month they have to wait could cost them several games in the standings.

What Other Warriors Have Trade Restrictions?

Marks detailed that the following Warriors can't be traded until the following dates:

Gary Payton II: Dec. 29
De'Anthony Melton: Jan. 1
Al Horford: Jan. 1
Seth Curry: Can't be traded this season

The Warriors have no reason to trade Melton anyway, but they could look to trade Payton and/or Horford, even if it's just to add matching salary. They'll have to wait a couple weeks to do so.

Note that Payton has an implicit no-trade clause, which means he can veto any trade. As explained by Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors, "A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with an option year – is given no-trade protection, unless he agrees to give up that protection when he inks his deal."

This would also apply to Kuminga, but he agreed to waive the no-trade protection when signing his contact.

Do Any Warriors Trade Targets Have Trade Restrictions?

Pelicans forward Herb Jones is one the best wings on the trade market, and he can't be traded until Jan. 14.

This actually works out well for the Warriors, who would likely need to trade Kuminga to get Jones, so the fact that their trade restrictions lift one day apart is close to ideal.

Sixers guard Quentin Grimes and Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama are among the possible Warriors trade targets who can't be traded until Jan. 15. Grimes has an implicit no-trade clause like Payton, which could complicate trying to trade for him.

And there are a handful of players like Seth Curry who can't be traded at all before the trade deadline.

The most intriguing name among these is Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith. Another potential Warriors target who can't be traded for this season is Bucks guard AJ Green.