Would the Golden State Warriors want to do a Kuminga for Monk swap?

Would the Golden State Warriors want to do a Kuminga for Monk swap?

on a Bay Area media.
Oh, he’s coming on now.
Legend. This guy.
Yeah. Warrior insider for NBC Sports Bay Area. Monty Pool back with us. How are you today, Monty?
I’m doing well. And when you say legend, just makes me feel old, man. Monty Pool, what’s up, man? It’s Draper. How are you?
What’s up, Drake?
How you been, man? You good?
Yeah, I’m all right. I’m all right. I’m all right.
You covering the Valkyries down there or what? Uh, I have not covered a Valkyrie game yet, but I have been enjoying watching them.
Um, it’s pretty amazing stuff to see an expansion team doing with what they’re doing. They got a pretty good system over there.
Tell them we want our colors back next time you go out there. Monty.
Yeah. Uh, Monty, tell Blame you for that. I can’t blame you. I totally understand.
Yeah. Tell us about Kuminga and the Warriors. There’s been some suggestions. I don’t even know if there reports that the Kings may be offering Malik trying to get Kaminga. What can you tell us about Jonathan Kaminga and the Warriors right now? Well, um Jonathan Kaminga has the bad luck of becoming a restricted free agent uh in a soft market. You know, it’s not a lot of interest because there isn’t a lot of money being thrown around. Uh the one team that has cap space is the Brooklyn Nets and they have shown no interest. So uh while the Warriors realize that they can’t do anything of real substance without clarifying the Kaminga situation and right now uh it’s just you know they made the qualifying offer over the weekend uh making him a restricted free agent and Dominguez people are trying to figure out what they can do. what what he can attract beyond the Warriors and the Warriors are really kind of in no position to do a whole lot because uh they can’t get their roster together the way they want to until
uh everything is settled with Kaminga and I my my concern is that um JK’s people won’t have much to come back to in terms of leverage. So uh when you hear about you know the various uh trade sign and trade possibilities Yeah. including a guy like Malik Monk. You know, the question becomes for me. I like Malik. He’s a really good player and dynamic guy, uh, scoring guard. But that’s not what’s I mean, that’s not a high priority for the Warriors. They have more priorities than that. Their priorities are um, first of all, they got to get more size. They they understand that now. And Malik Monk ain’t going to get they ain’t going to be blocking any shots in the paint, right? So, um, and he won’t be, you know, climbing the glass against the guys like Joker and and and the two guys in OKC, both Chad and Isaiah, uh, the the guys in in Houston now, you know, Stephen Adams and Shane Don and, uh, Capella’s back there. I mean, uh, they realize they got to get more size can’t help with that. And they also realize, you know, Gary Peyton, uh, the second his status is still up in the air. I was told uh over the weekend that it was doubtful that he’d return, but now that Kavon Looney is out of the mix going to New Orleans, uh I think his chances of returning are a little bit better. The Warriors like him, he likes them, but they’re not going to pay him the 9.21 million he made last year. So, in and none of those three things that you’re looking at where you I mean point of attack, defense, which is what Gary Gary at his best brings that uh rim protection and and also if you’re looking for somebody a wing defender, Malik is none of those things. You know, he’s a scoring guard. Uh and he can he’s one of those guys, you know, on our podcast earlier today, I said, you know, there are certain guys in this league who can win you some games strictly because they get hot. He’s one of those guys. He can do that. He can do that. But there’s also gonna be some games when he has nothing. You know what I mean?
He’s gonna win you some games and he might he might even lose you a a game or two. Uh trying to trying to win you a game or two. So, um you got to live with that, you know? I mean, Jordan Clarkson, another one of those guys, you know, uh when they got it going, look out. When they don’t have it going, uh oh. So, um, so yeah, I I I I don’t see the Warriors making that move for those reasons because Malik doesn’t address their their most important needs.
Hey, Monty, uh, Monty Pool joining us, NBC Sports Bay Area Warriors, uh, insider. Do you see envision a scenario in which the Warriors would welcome Jonathan Kaminga back?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. They may have no option, you know. Um, understand too, um, the Warriors, you know, they had three lottery picks in back-to-back years, three picks. The first one, James Wiseman’s already gone. The second one’s Kaminga. Still there, future in the balance. The third one is Moses Moody. Nice player, rotation player, but not a star. Uh, they don’t want to even think of the possibility of having three lottery picks and none of them becoming a star for them. And now you’re looking at Kaminga who clearly his game doesn’t fit the way the Warriors play um and and the way they will play as long as they have Steph and Curry on the roster. So he is a change of pace. So is Jimmy Butler,
a change of pace guy. Jimmy doesn’t play the game that Steph plays, but he can adapt. JK is more of a lone wolf in terms of but when JK has it going he’s sort of a solo artist,
you know, it’s not like a he’s part of the symphony. He does his thing and it’s great sometimes and sometimes it’s not so great, but it’s just it’s a it’s a misfit in that regard. Jonathan wants to be a star in this league and he has that potential. He still has some ed rough edges he has to smooth out. But as long as Steph Curry is the star of this team, he’s a featured guy. And JK can only be featured if Steph’s off the floor. And we know what happens to the Warriors when Steph’s off the floor because we saw it in the postseason against Timberwolves.
Yeah.
When Steph left, they were done.
Yeah.
So, um, so yeah, they welcome them back. They may not have a choice. That may be it because they don’t want to lose him for nothing. Mhm.
But but even if they welcome him back, I seriously doubt that he will be there long term. You know, maybe they welcome him back until they can trade him down the road. Uh which again, that’s that’s a distinct possibility should he come back. If he showed up for day one on training camp, uh I would be shocked if he’s there for training camp in 2026. Hey, Monte Monty Pool with us and you talked about Kaminga’s game a little bit there. uh aside from his fit with the Warriors and I know it’s kind of hard to separate that but how has he gotten better since he’s been there and where in what areas does he need to still improve? Yeah, it’s sporadic and he gets I mean there are games when oh JK is seeing the floor better uh on offense particularly you know where he he he feels his teammates a little bit better and because there were times earlier in his career when he seemed to be playing with blinders and you know you see that growth there where he’s you know he’s making the smart pass that maybe a year or two he didn’t make because he wasn’t looking for it and so that’s one thing he’s done better. The rebounding comes and goes, man. Some nights he gets you seven or eight rebounds in 25 minutes. Some nights he gets you two rebounds in 30 minutes, you know. So that’s and that’s the consistency is what they’ve been hoping to find there and it’s never really been there. Um and so um but just the fact that he seems to see the floor better. Um defensively, I don’t think there’s a great deal of difference. He’s he’s a little bit better on ball. Uh he’s a competent on ball defender. Now, when you ask him to defend in a team scheme, it’s a little bit different. He has some trouble there, you know, and we always go back to the Christmas Day game against the Lakers where Austin Reeves uh worked his way around Andrew Wiggins and Kaminga was supposed to be the help defender and Kaminga was chasing the guy out of bounds. Mhm.
Uh I think Ri Hashimura, somebody was running out of bounds on the baseline and Kamika had his back to the play
and that’s a to me that’s a ghastly error when you’re supposed to be the help defender and a guy is going in for a layup which is what Austin Reeves got and to win the game.
So it’s stuff like that that makes people go wait a minute JK we we’ve discussed this you know we’ve talked about the importance of health defense. Why are you chasing a guy Reashimura out of bounds when Austin Reeves has the ball and is driving? Yeah, you can say maybe Wiggins shouldn’t let Austin Reeves get past him, but Wiggins turned him to the baseline because he thought Kaminga would be there
and JK had his back to the whole play. And so it just it’s stuff like that that drives the coaching staff play crazy and some of the veterans are like, “Ah, come on. You got to be better than that.” So there yeah, do I see strides? Absolutely. But do I see some areas where he still needs to really get much better? Absolutely. So, whoever gets JK and whether it’s tomorrow, next month, next year, and it will be somebody else at some point. Um, we’ll have to accept that and hope that, you know, he’s still young and hope that those edges are rough are smoothed out at some point.
What do you think his ceiling is, uh, Monty? What do you ultimately see his development in the NBA being? And can he be an allstar? Is he a number two one? like what do you think?
Uh I think his ceiling is a number two and he’s got a ways to go to get there. Uh because I I don’t ever see him as number one because number one a number one guys feel the game and think the game and make those around him better in some form or fashion. And I don’t see him being that guy. You know, I understand. You know, I know that JK spent most of his teen years loving basketball and watching video of Kobe Bryant. And I think in his mind, that’s who he wants to be.
Uh, but Kobe is a rare breed, man.
Right.
You know, he’s a rare breed. And Kobe, talk about Kobe is as mental as he was physical about the game. And he thought the game at a high level. And JK is not there yet. He physically he can do. He’s hell, he has Kobe’s uh physique. He has Kobe’s athleticism. Um he has those things, but Kobe could feel could see the game and feel the game in ways that others couldn’t. And yeah, there were time when Kobe took some bad shots because he believed in Kobe. But
yeah,
um but but JK, yeah, he doesn’t he doesn’t have that knack. And that’s a rare thing. A lot of guys there are a lot of guys in NBA, most guys in NBA don’t have that knack. And so, um, his desire to be that while not possessing the things that are required to be that are kind of what where where he is right now and kind of what the Warriors are seeing and dealing with. And so, they’re hoping for growth, but they’ve been hoping for four years for growth. And they’ve seen sit starts. Um, but his ceiling, can he be an all-star? I think he can because he’s he can be spectacular and spectacular can sell. you know that the NBA, you know, fans like spectacular and and he can do that. He will have that as long as he’s on the court.
But as far as a guy who can lead a team to a championship, I don’t I don’t see that.
Can it be a number two? If a number one is strong enough, potentially. Potentially. So, but you know, right now he’s not he’s not a number two either. So, if he goes to a team, can he be that in a couple years? Maybe. Maybe. He’s like I say, he’s still he’s young.
Yeah. and there’s still room for growth, but I think the Warriors would like to have seen more growth on a more consistent level basis uh throughout the four years he’s been with them.
Uh Monty Pool with this. You say the Warriors are looking for size. I know they already have Quinton Post and maybe you’re talking about wings, but would you be interested in a sevenfooter from Stanford out of France that Damn, you trying to trade our guy already?
I’m just asking a question of Monty. Well, uh I think I’ll put it this way, okay? Uh you know, I know there’s some conversation with Al Horford.
Mhm.
Now, I like Al Horford and he’d be a great fit. He’s 39 years old. He But I think he’d be a great fit. He’d be a good get at this stage because honestly, I mean, I’m thinking DeAndre Aiden going to Lakers, that could hurt the Warriors.
Yeah. I mean, Aiden isn’t he’s not a perfect player, but he’s a sevenfooter who can get to 15 and 10 and do it on a fairly regular basis. He had a nice mid-range shot. He can protect the rim. Uh, but he went to the Lakers. I know the Warriors were looking at that possibility. Now, it looks like Al Horford may be the only one left that really can help them. Um, Brook Lopez has already gone over to the Clippers. Uh, and I I know that they were interested in him at one point. So, um, it looks to me I’d be surprised at this point if Al Horford wants to leave and wants wants to leave Boston and wants to continue his career. Um, I think this would be a pretty good spot for him. Uh, yeah, he’s he’d be the oldest guy on the team that’s got three old guys. Yeah.
Uh, he’s 39 and Steph are 37 and Jimmy is going to be 36 pretty soon and 35. So, um, that that’s a whole another story because now you’re looking at four guys, four vets, really good vets, but you can’t they have to have some youth and athleticism around them to have any chance of competing in this bearable Western Conference.
Gotcha. Monty, it’s great talking with you again. We appreciate your time and your insight. Enjoy the holiday weekend. We hope to talk to you again soon.
All right, fellas. Enjoy being absolutely. Thank you.

Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area joined The Drive Guys to discuss the Warriors’ current situation with forward Jonathan Kuminga, if the Golden State would consider taking back Malik Monk, and where things went wrong with Kuminga and the Warriors

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