The Golden State Warriors could trade forward Jonathan Kuminga for a high pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, according to NBA insider Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
The Warriors currently have the 15th overall pick in this year’s draft.
“Sources tell ESPN the Warriors are also exploring the option of acquiring a high draft pick in exchange for a young prospect such as Jonathan Kuminga,” Givony wrote.
Kuminga appeared in 67 games for the Warriors this season. He averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 52.5% from the field, 37.0% from beyond the arc and 65.2% from the free-throw line.
NBA DRAFT NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Jonathan Kuminga & Golden State Warriors Updates
Golden State drafted Kuminga with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft.
The Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals in six games. Kuminga only played in 10 postseason games, averaging 3.4 points. It is widely believed within NBA circles that Kuminga would like to be traded by the Warriors to a team who will play him more minutes despite Steve Kerr’s comments about him.
“I think JK had a really good year,” Kerr said on Tim Kawakami’s podcast with The Athletic. “You look at the regular season and he had a lot of good moments. The last 30 games or so with (Andrew) Wiggins out, it really thrust JK into a more prominent role. And he took advantage of that. He played well, helped us win some games.
“I think the main thing that happened in the playoffs was that Wigs was back and we had Gary Payton and those guys basically were filling the role that JK had been filling while they were gone. And there’s just more experience and more, I think, intuitive knowledge of the NBA and awareness from those guys, as you would expect; they’re much older and they’ve got a lot more experience.
NBA DRAFT NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Jonathan Kuminga & Golden State Warriors Updates
“So I just went with the guys who I thought could impact winning more. It doesn’t mean that we stopped believing in JK by any means. It just means that those were the guys we thought would help us win.”
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