NBA Rumors

Report: Warriors not shopping Kuminga in trade market

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It's officially the NBA offseason, and the usual rumors are running rampant.

The record reportedly has been set straight when it comes to young Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, whose future with Golden State seems uncertain after he fell out of the team's rotation completely during the 2023 NBA playoffs.

The Athletic's Anthony Slater reported Wednesday, citing multiple "adamant" team sources, that the Warriors are not shopping Kuminga around in the trade market despite rumored interest.

"One of the exploratory conversations that surfaced, via ESPN, was a trade-up scenario involving Kuminga," Slater wrote. "From my understanding, that was an inbound call from a team in the lottery that has registered regular interest in Kuminga dating back a year."

The conversation Slater is referring to made headlines last week when ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported, citing sources, that Golden State is "exploring the option of acquiring a high draft pick in exchange for a young prospect such as Kuminga."

That could have been misconstrued by some as the Warriors actively seeking a trade partner for the promising 20-year-old, but according to Slater's report, that doesn't appear to be the case -- they simply fielded the call. What isn't surprising is that the team has received interest in Kuminga and is looking to move up in the 2023 NBA Draft, leading to those "exploratory" discussions.

Kuminga showed flashes of promise this past season but overall experienced an up-and-down sophomore campaign in the NBA, averaging 9.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game. While he displayed some improvement from his rookie year, he wasn't ever able to establish a secure role in coach Steve Kerr's rotation.

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In the NBA playoffs, Kuminga averaged just 6.1 minutes per game and was a DNP (Did Not Play) three times. It was reported shortly after the Warriors' season ended in the second round that Kuminga would request a trade if he was not guaranteed a bigger role next season.

Kerr refuted that "speculation" during a May interview with 95.7 The Game.

"Is [Kuminga] upset that he didn’t play? I think he’s frustrated that he didn’t play," Kerr said. "I would hope anybody in his situation would be frustrated with not playing.

"These guys are competitors, and they’re dying to be out there. I didn’t put him out there much, so he has every right to be frustrated. Anything beyond that is just speculation."

So far, there hasn't been a trade request from Kuminga. And it looks like Golden State plans on keeping the forward around -- unless someone with an offer it can't refuse comes calling.

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