The Golden State Warriors are at a crossroads - again. With a roster built around Stephen Curry and a shrinking window to contend, the pressure is mounting.
And now, there’s buzz about a potential trade with the LA Clippers that would send Jonathan Kuminga packing. If it goes down, it would mark the first deal between these two franchises since 1990 - a 35-year drought that speaks volumes about how rare this kind of move would be.
But let’s get into the why.
Golden State’s season has been a rollercoaster, and not the fun kind. The team has struggled to find a rhythm, and Kuminga - once viewed as a key piece of the Warriors’ future - hasn’t exactly made the leap fans and the organization hoped for.
Despite signing a fresh deal this past offseason, his development has stalled. He’s even picked up a couple of DNPs from Steve Kerr recently, which is telling.
When a young, athletic wing can’t crack the rotation on a team that’s starving for energy and versatility, it raises eyebrows.
Enter the Clippers.
They haven’t exactly set the league on fire either this season, and while they’re likely not eager to hit the reset button, a move for a young, high-upside player like Kuminga could be a calculated swing. The Warriors, meanwhile, would be leaning hard into a win-now mindset - one that prioritizes maximizing whatever time is left with Curry at the helm.
Here’s the proposed framework of the trade:
Clippers receive: Jonathan Kuminga
Warriors receive: Derrick Jones Jr., Brook Lopez, Kobe Brown
There’s also a version of the deal that would include Kris Dunn going to Golden State, with the Warriors adding another minimum contract to the Clippers to make the math work. But that might be a stretch for LA, especially if they think Dunn can fetch draft capital elsewhere.
Let’s break down what this trade actually means on the court.
For the Warriors:
Derrick Jones Jr. has quietly been one of the best perimeter defenders in the league this season.
He’s not going to light up the scoreboard, but what he brings on the defensive end - length, timing, and off-ball awareness - could be a game-changer for a Warriors team that’s often lacked defensive bite outside of Draymond Green. He’s the kind of player who doesn’t need the ball to make an impact, which fits perfectly alongside Curry.
Brook Lopez, though not having a standout year with the Clippers, still brings size and rim protection - two things Golden State desperately needs. Outside of Quinten Post, the Warriors don’t have a true big who can anchor the paint. Adding Lopez to a frontcourt that already includes Draymond, Al Horford, and Post would give Kerr more flexibility at the five, especially in matchups that require bulk and interior defense.
Kobe Brown is mostly a salary-matching piece here. He’s a young player with some upside, but the Warriors wouldn’t be counting on him to move the needle right away.
For the Clippers:
This is a bet on upside.
Kuminga still has all the tools - athleticism, defensive potential, and flashes of offensive creation. The issue has been consistency and fit.
Maybe a change of scenery and a new system would unlock the version of Kuminga that many scouts projected when he was drafted. For LA, it’s a swing worth considering, especially if they’re looking to inject some youth into an aging core.
The big picture:
Let’s be real - this isn’t peak value for Kuminga.
If the Warriors had moved him in the summer, they probably could’ve landed more. But timing is everything in the NBA, and the market has cooled.
Still, if Golden State is serious about making one last push with this core - and avoiding another drawn-out situation like the one they had with Jordan Poole - then this deal checks a lot of boxes.
It gives them defensive help, size, and veteran experience. It also clears the logjam at the wing and lets them reshape the rotation around players who can contribute right now.
Is it a gamble? Sure. But at this point in the season, with the standings tightening and the margin for error shrinking, it might be the kind of risk the Warriors have to take.
And if it ends a 35-year trade drought in the process? Well, that’s just a historical footnote on what could be a franchise-shifting decision.