Shelburne believes the Warriors will do ‘everything’ to keep Kuminga originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors dynasty will soon come to an end. If you haven’t already. But one of the young players tasked with leading Golden State into a post-Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green future is Jonathan Kuminga.
After a 2023-24 NBA seasonThe 21-year-old forward has cemented himself as the Warriors’ star of the present and future, and the organization — from coach Steve Kerr to general manager Mike Dunleavy to owner Joe Lacob — has made it clear it wants Kuminga around for the long haul.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne joined 95.7 “Willard & Dibs” game on Thursday, and stated that he believes the The warriors will go “big hunting” this offseason for another playmaker to join Golden State’s dynastic core.
Outside of possibly rehiring Thompson, the Warriors are unlikely to make a significant move through free agency due to the team’s financial constraints, meaning any major moves will have to be made through the trade market. OK, so what does Golden State have to negotiate? Well, probably not Kuminga, who Shelburne believes the Warriors have no interest in moving.
“No way,” Shelburne said when asked if a Kuminga trade is on the cards. “I think he’s pretty much…it’s going to get complicated because of the extension negotiations and how much money they have, but I think they’re going to do everything they can to keep him. about it.”
So if not Kuminga, then who or what do the Warriors have to offer?
“They have a very good asset pool,” Shelburne added. “They have some other good young players outside of Kuminga. They have draft picks, they have [Andrew] Wiggins, they have Gary Payton, they have a lot of options there. They have a lot of optionality. And then there’s Chris Paul, that contract is very interesting for a lot of teams for a lot of reasons.”
The Warriors have other young, exciting players like center Trayce Jackson-Davis and guards Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody, but Golden State, similar to Kuminga, likely views them as players to build around as well.
After back-to-back disappointing seasons, the Warriors may need to make a big change this summer to keep their championship goals alive. And if they do, any significant addition won’t come cheap and will likely cost them one of their future cornerstone players.
