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The Sacramento Kings are one of the few organizations showing interest in the Golden State Warriors forward, Jonathan Kuminga.
While other teams have poked their heads in, Kuminga’s slimming trade chances still seem to be down to Kings or bust before this year’s deadline.
On Tuesday, FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show presented a trade idea, which shows a potential pathway for the Kings to finally put an end to Golden State’s Kuminga saga.
In this scenario, the Kings would acquire Kuminga on his own. In return, they would give up Malik Monk and Keon Ellis.
Breaking Down the Scenario
The Warriors certainly don’t have any attachment to Kuminga at this point. Prior to the Jimmy Butler injury, they seemed guaranteed to move on.
Lately, that hasn’t seemed to be the case. At the end of the day, the Warriors aren’t going to part ways with Kuminga just to get a deal done—not even if the situation remains awkward for the next few months.
From the jump, it’s been made clear that the Warriors aren’t interested in taking on long-term money, as they want to remain flexible for a potential sweepstakes this upcoming summer.
Malik Monk is exactly the type of contract the Warriors would want to avoid. He’s in year two of a $77.9 million deal. Next season, Monk is set to make over $20 million, and he has a $21 million player option attached for the 2027-2028 NBA season.
Keon Ellis has been one of the most prominent names on the trade market this year, and he’s on an expiring deal. Still, he isn’t worth the gamble of taking on multiple seasons with Monk if that’s what it takes to acquire Ellis and cut ties with Kuminga.
The Warriors are in a tough spot, and could certainly use a big swing. But if they aren’t truly getting a surefire difference-maker, they are better off rolling the dice with what they’ve got and looking ahead to next year’s offseason, when they could make some notable changes.
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