Warriors' Kuminga Trade Return Made Worse by Ex-Target Thriving in 2026 Playoffs

The disappointing trade return for Jonathan Kuminga hurts even more when considering all the players the Warriors could have had for him over the years.

Perhaps the most notable miss was Knicks star OG Anunoby.

At the 2023 trade deadline, NBA writer C.J. Holmes reported that the Warriors "made a hard push" for Anunoby, who was a Raptor at the time. Holmes added that Raptors GM Masai Ujiri's "asking price was too high" because he "wanted Kuminga, others, plus picks."

Anunoby was already a two-force in 2023, and his reputation has only grown since, as he keyed a 2025 playoff upset of the Boston Celtics.

And now his value is as high as ever after he averaged 21.5 points on 61.1 percent shooting and 56.7 percent from three in New York's six-game series win over Kuminga's Hawks. Anunoby was stellar on defense as well, averaging 8.7 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

Warriors Analyst's Strong Take on Anunoby Miss

Light Years podcast host Andy Liu didn't mince words when opining about the Anunoby miss on X.

"Joe Lacob saying no to OG for crumbs is such a failure my goodness," Liu wrote. "Did not need hindsight to tell you how dumb that was either."

Bob Myers was the GM at the time. it's not clear whether Myers or team governor Joe Lacob was the driving force behind keeping Kuminga and picks for Anunoby.

But it's easy to see that it was a massive mistake now.

More than three years later, it's clear that Anunoby is miles more valuable than Kuminga. The point of not trading Kuminga in 2023 was that he would be Anunoby-like by 2026, but that's not the case.

Kuminga averaged 13.7 points in the playoffs against the Knicks, but he shot just 20.8 percent from three. And though Kuminga had some impressive reps showing off his defensive versatility, he's not anywhere near the level of Anunoby on the less glamorous end.

Warriors Waited Too Long to Trade Kuminga

The Warriors had several chances to trade Kuminga when his value was high. The first chance was arguably the 2023 deadline, as he still hadn't broken out yet but was showing signs of progress as a 20-year-old.

Kuminga broke out during the 2023-24 season, and that's when the 2021 No. 7 overall pick was linked to then-Raptors star Pascal Siakam.

Though his value probably wasn't quite as high at the 2025 trade deadline, it was still high enough to get something done. Kuminga was reportedly in the trade offer for Kevin Durant, but when the Warriors were forced to pivot to Jimmy Butler, they had a few hours to find a different Kuminga trade partner. They chose to keep him, and that proved to be the last chance they had to get a decent return for him without giving up major draft capital.

The rest is history. Kuminga demanded a trade and was eventually moved with Buddy Hield for Kristaps Porzingis at the 2026 trade deadline.

Porzingis' long-term availability concerns are a cloud over any positivity about the Warriors' future outlook.

The Warriors needed to do better with the Kuminga asset, and it has cost them and will continue to cost them dearly.

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