The Phoenix Suns have expressed recent interest in working with the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade involving forward Jonathan Kuminga, NBA reporter Jake Fischer wrote Thursday in the Marc Stein newsletter.
Fresh off completing a buyout of Bradley Beal this week, enabling the Suns to waive-and-stretch the hefty contract possessed by the three-time NBA All-Star guard, they have contacted both Kuminga’s representation and the Warriors to make their fondness for the bouncy swingman known.
The Suns, to be clear, do not appear to possess the sort of draft capital or players that Golden State is believed to be seeking in exchange for Kuminga.
Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro adds that Phoenix has liked Kuminga for a while, which Fischer notes the interest came up in February as the Suns were attempting to deal Kevin Durant to Golden State before the trade deadline.
To give the context as to why Phoenix’s opportunity to land Kuminga might be slim, let’s start with the status around his restricted free agency.
Kuminga, the 22-year-old who averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists last year, is aiming for a contract that pays out at least $25 million per year, a bit high for the Warriors’ liking if it’s a longer-term deal, according to Fischer.
If a sign-and-trade is preferred on Golden State’s end, a theoretical Suns trade could package guards Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen to the Warriors. That’s two veteran players who could add valuable depth to Steve Kerr’s team. An Allen-Nick Richards package is also in the realm of possibility in terms of the financials.
On Phoenix’s end, either of those potential deals would clarify the guard rotation that has Devin Booker and Jalen Green clearly atop the pecking order.
The big red flag about a Suns deal becoming appealing from there is that Fischer reports a first-round pick is a desired starting point for Golden State to be open to a Kuminga trade. Phoenix’s pick swaps and trades from the Durant and Beal moves in the past few years have left their assets extremely limited unless we’re talking about a first-rounder in the 2030s.
Fischer adds that the Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls have been the most involved in pursuing Kuminga.
