Warriors Reportedly Less Likely To Trade Kuminga After Jimmy Butler Injury

Warriors reportedly less likely to trade Kuminga after Jimmy Butler injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With the NBA trade deadline just over one week away, there is increased uncertainty around the direction the Warriors are headed.

It is evident that Golden State, currently 26-22 and eighth in the Western Conference, must shake some things up if it wants to compete in the stacked West, especially after the season-ending injury to Steph Curry’s right-hand man, Jimmy Butler.

Jonathan Kuminga has been the name most brought up in the trade rumor mill, especially after he requested a trade earlier this month. But the Warriors might have to reconvene their Kuminga plan after Butler’s ACL injury.

The Warriors now are “less likely” to move Kuminga at the Feb. 5 deadline following the injury to Butler, ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported in a column published Tuesday, citing multiple team sources.

Before Butler’s injury, the disgruntled young wing was a DNP-CD (Did Not Play, Coach’s Decision) for 16 consecutive games. He fell back out of Steve Kerr’s rotation and a divorce never seemed more imminent.

But with Butler sidelined, Kerr turned back to Kuminga before the 23-year-old sustained a bone bruise in his left knee. He will be reevaluated in the next few days, but there’s some optimism he could return before next week’s deadline, Slater reported, citing team sources, while a decision about his future in the Bay must be made.

The Kings have been one of the teams interested in Kuminga dating back months, but there hasn’t been any recent traction in those talks, Slater reported, citing league sources.

So, despite Kuminga’s wish to pack his bags and start somewhere fresh, it appears more and more likely that he could remain a Warrior beyond next week.

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