By Gabe Smallson
Copyright newsweek
The Golden State Warriors have been in a prolonged standstill regarding restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.The 22-year-old forward and the iconic Bay Area franchise haven’t been able to agree on a contract, with Kuminga wanting a player option in his new deal, and the Warriors only offering a team option.More news: Heat Considering Cutting Ties With $96 Million Guard: ReportAs the saga soldiers on, a few teams have been linked to Kuminga in a potential sign-and-trade deal.ESPN insiders Anthony Slater and Shams Charania have reported that the Sacramento Kings are among these teams to stake their interest in the forward with a sign-and-trade proposal.More news: Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green Urging Warriors to Sign Jonathan KumingaThe following trade idea from NBA insider Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report sends Kuminga to the Kings, while the Brooklyn Nets also join in to make the money work all around.”The Sacramento Kings receive: Jonathan Kuminga (from Warriors), Buddy Hield (from Warriors)”The Golden State Warriors receive: Malik Monk (from Kings), Drew Timme (from Nets), protected 2026 first-rounder (from Kings)”The Brooklyn Nets receive: Dario Å arić (from Kings), 2029 second-rounder (from Kings), $1 million (from Kings)”More news: Knicks Expected to Make Trade Ahead of New Season: ReportThe Kings would walk away with quite a haul, but at the expense of the 27-year-old Malik Monk, coming off the best scoring average among his eight NBA seasons (17.2 PPG) and assists (5.6 per game), on a career-high 31.6 minutes.The return in the form of a 22-year-old Kuminga, coming off a 15.3 points per game season, and 32-year-old Buddy Hield (collecting 11.1 points per game on 37 percent shooting from beyond the arc last year), seems to potentially be sufficient for Sacramento.Sacramento also loses the recently acquired Dario Saric, a second-round pick, and $1 million in this trade idea, all headed to the Nets.The Warriors wind up with Monk, who can prove to be a spark plug for them behind future Hall of Famer Stephen Curry. The fast-paced nature of the Warriors under head coach Steve Kerr could prove to be a perfect opportunity for Monk in this hypothetical.As the regular season looms, the Warriors will certainly weigh their options regarding Kuminga. His next major deadline is Oct. 1, when he’ll need to make a decision on his $7.9 million qualifying option. The rest of the basketball world will just have to wait and see how this story ends.More news: Knicks Guard Takes Shot at Fired Coach Tom ThibodeauFor all the latest NBA news and rumors, head over to Newsweek Sports.
