Jonathan Kuminga has demanded a trade from the Golden State Warriors, according to Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of ESPN, a move that’s hardly been unexpected.
“Team sources said that essentially every major figure on the ground level of the operation — most notably Kuminga, Kerr and the veterans watching a $22.5 million player sit on the bench while the team is stuck in a ‘mediocre’ state, as Jimmy Butler called it — agree that the best resolution is to trade Kuminga prior to the deadline,” they reported.
De’Andre Hunter, 28, is a near-identical salary match to Kuminga ($23.3 million to $22.5 million), and adding in Trayce Jackson-Davis actually helps the Warriors shed a little money and stay below the second apron.
Hunter brings good size to Golden State’s wing at 6’8″, as he can play either forward position and serve as a starter or sixth man. He’s played some of his best basketball lately, averaging 15.9 points and 4.1 rebounds on 37.1 percent shooting from three over the last two seasons between the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
His laid-back personality and drama-free game would be a refreshing change of pace for a Warriors organization that’s had to pretend the house wasn’t on fire even though Kuminga was constantly running around with a box of matches.
With a core of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Al Horford and Hunter, the Warriors could make a second-half run up the standings and would no longer have the Kuminga cloud hovering over the organization.
