Windhorst: Kuminga Thought He Was Getting Traded to Suns amid Durant, Butler Buzz
Before the Golden State Warriors pivoted Wednesday to a trade for former Miami Heat wing Jimmy Butler, forward Jonathan Kuminga reportedly thought he was headed to the Phoenix Suns in a deal for Kevin Durant.
Speaking Wednesday night on Brian Windhorst and The Hoop Collective (beginning at the 18:40 mark), ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst said he believes Kuminga would have been included in a trade for Durant:
Windhorst then added that Kuminga and his camp thought "for a minute" that they were Phoenix bound.
While the Warriors looked into the possibility of a reunion with Durant, who helped lead the team to a pair of championships during his three-year run with the organization from 2016 to 2019, nothing came to fruition.
ESPN's Shams Charania and Ohm Youngmisuk reported Wednesday that KD had "no desire" to return to Golden State.
With a Durant trade off the table, the Warriors shifted their focus to Butler and landed him in a four-team deal.
The Warriors acquired Butler and reportedly will sign him to a two-year, $111 million contract extension, sending Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a protected 2025 first-round pick to the Heat, Dennis Schröder to the Utah Jazz and Lindy Waters III to the Detroit Pistons.
Golden State has a veteran core of Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in place, but Kuminga remains the team's best young player.
Selected seventh overall in the 2021 NBA draft, the 22-year-old Kuminga is in the midst of his fourth NBA season.
After primarily coming off the bench over his first two campaigns, he broke out last season with 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field.
Kuminga's efficiency has dipped this season, as he is shooting just 45.9 percent from the floor, but he has set or matched career highs thus far with 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 three-pointers made per contest.
He has been out of action since suffering a sprained ankle on Jan. 4, and on Jan. 27, the Warriors announced he would be re-evaluated in two weeks.
While Kuminga is still with the Warriors for now, his future is far from certain, as he is set to become a restricted free agent during the offseason.
