According to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga wants to go to the Sacramento Kings, and they have supposedly promised him a starting role. However, the Warriors don’t like the package they would get back in return in a sign-and-trade.
“He wants to go,” Spears said on ESPN’s NBA Today. “And the Kings are offering a starting spot. Okay. At power forward—next to Keegan Murray, next to Sabonis. He's talked on a Zoom call with Scott Perry, as you know, the GM, B.J. Armstrong, the assistant GM, and also with their head coach. He wants to go there. But I think the issue is, first, the Warriors don’t like the pick.”
If the move does happen, it would be a very intriguing one for the Kings.
Why should the Kings want Jonathan Kuminga?
The Kings are in a very awkward position. The Western Conference is absolutely stacked, and Sacramento could be one of the teams on the outside looking in of next season’s playoffs if things shake out the way most predict them to.
However, adding a young piece like Kuminga could give the Kings a fun future building block and a guy who can help them win right now. If things pan out, it would be a win-win for Sacramento.
Kuminga is desperate for more opportnuities. He wants to be a focal point of the team he’s on. Obviously, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan are going to take a ton of shots, but having Kuminga on the roster could allow them to go in a different direction. Perhaps DeRozan could even be shipped out in the Kuminga sign-and-trade, if the money works out.
If the Kings eventually decide to rebuild, they could simply put the ball in Kuminga’s hands. And if they want to keep trying to win, Kuminga could still get some on-ball touches while also adapting to an Aaron Gordon-esque role to Domantas Sabonis’ Nikola Jokic-like play style.
Regardless, for a team in as rough a spot as the Kings, their young core isn’t great. They just drafted Nique Clifford, who looked incredible at Summer League, but outside of that, Devin Carter and Maxime Raynaud are their only promising youngsters.
Bringing in a 21-year-old Kuminga would add to that young core while also bringing some much-needed athleticism to their front court.
It’s certainly not perfect, as Kuminga is a flawed player in his current form, but the mutual interest is there, and it could make some sense for Sacramento to pursue him further.