Jonathan Kuminga To Bulls?! Stand-Off With Warriors

Jonathan Kuminga To Bulls?! Stand-Off With Warriors

Jonathan Kaminga currently stuck with the Golden State Warriors. We’ve got an update on the situation where he could ultimately land and there’s another team that’s interested in trading for him. I’m Trevor Lane. This is the Basketball Bulletin. Make sure you subscribe right here to the channel and turn on those notifications. I’ve said it before, but there’s about 70% of you, you’re watching this right now, you’re not subscribed. Let’s fix it. You know who you are. Hit that subscribe button. That’s right. Donnie Freeman joining me. Donnie, you know who you are. pay you a visit if you don’t subscribe here. Yeah, stop playing around. Let’s talk a little Jonathan Kaminga here. Oh, Jonathan Kamega, one of several restricted free agents right now in the NBA that find themselves stuck in an inhospitable market. And according to Brett Seagull of Clutch Points, the Warriors, they’ve been working to find a deal. Essentially, we’re in a spot where Kaminga doesn’t want to be a Warrior anymore. The Warriors don’t want Kaminga anymore, but the Warriors don’t want to lose him for nothing, and he wants to get paid. So, check this out. Right now, uh, Kaminga wanted Jaylen Johnson’s deal, a 5year, $150 million extension that Jaylen Johnson got with the Hawks. Amazing. I understand why Kaminga would see Jaylen Johnson and think their peers in that sense. Like in terms of their explosiveness, their ability to to to be a young developing wing player with plenty of upside. I get that he didn’t think they were peers beforehand. That’s the problem. That’s the problem. That’s the problem. the ca the Warriors offered Kaminga a deal in the 30 million range before the 2024 2025 season, but made it clear that offer is no longer on the table. We’re living in a different world now. Instead, the Warriors want a smaller deal around 20 million per year. And the reason for that, Donnie, is because the Warriors want to be able to trade Kaminga and they’re worried that if they pay him 30 million and they don’t want to keep him longterm, nobody’s going to want to trade for that contract. So, Kaminga is looking at, man, I could have had 30 million a year. I want that money back. The Warriors are saying, “No, we want to be able to flip you in a trade. We want to be able to trade you by the trade deadline.” So, that’s created this impass here and it’s all messy. But, he’s still a talented player. So, I still think we’re going to see some kind of resolution here, especially as we talk about some of these teams that are now interested in trading for him. Yeah. Out of all the guys that are restricted free agents, to me, he seems like the most likely guy to take that qualifying offer. Yeah. because this is really dragging and they’ve had actually Melton and Horford on ice. Those two are absolutely going to Golden State, but they’re just waiting on all of this to resolve. Frankly, I was telling you like before we uh came on, of course, frankly, it’s surprising to me that they’re like, “Oh, let’s wait for a month, a month and a half till this is all resolved and then sign our contracts.” That’s that’s some real dedication from those two. They really want to go to Golden State. Um, but I think out of all those guys, Kaminga, it just makes the most sense because he turned that deal down. He wants that money back. it’s not there for him anymore. He doesn’t want to take less, especially on a long-term situation, and he wants to go uh he wants to go elsewhere. So, it just sounds like he’s going to either have to accept what they’re giving him or try to recoup value. And that, you know, that’s a fair point. Like, what happens? What if Al Horford says, “You know what? Like, I’m done worrying about, you know, messing up my ankle if I step off a curb or something like I want to sign my contract.” And DA Anthony Melton has a long injury history. I’m sure he wants to sign his contract, too. players don’t just sit in bubble wrap all summer. They go, they train, they work out. We already saw Jiren Jackson Jr. got hurt in an offseason workout. So, Horford, uh, Melton, how what if they put pressure on and say, “Hey, we’re we’re not going to wait anymore for you guys to figure out how much money you’re going to actually have available.” Now, at that point, maybe the Warriors just say, “Hey, we’re only going to have veteran minimum to give you then.” and these guys are waiting to get a little bit more assuming that maybe they will have a portion of their mid-level exception, maybe at least the taxpayer mid-level to give. So maybe that’s the incentive. But still, if those guys grow impatient, maybe that forces the Warriors hand a bit here. Um, as far as an actual trade though, the Phoenix Suns, boy, Donnie, I look at what what’s mentioned here. Phoenix was going to get Kaminga in the three-team Kevin Durant trade until KD killed that deal. KD didn’t want to go to the Warriors. That was during the season. KD didn’t want to go to the Warriors and then he killed that trade. Yeah, they were going to get him, but that that was alongside Jimmy Butler, which is kind of crazy. Like I wouldn’t have guessed that. Like I that’s huge information that that’s a part of that and that just kind of blew up. How different would the Suns look right now if they had gotten Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kaminga in that Kevin Durant swap? Oh yeah. Oh, I mean totally different situation. But the bottom line, they had interest in Kaminga. They’re interested in him still, but actually trading for him might be a little bit tricky, especially if the Warriors don’t want long-term salaries when, as it’s mentioned elsewhere in the article, Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neal who have long-term deals are the main pieces that Phoenix is looking to move. So, Kavoa to the Warriors may not be a fit at at this point. Yeah, absolutely. It it remains to be seen. Um, but I would have I would have if I’m Phoenix really liked to have gotten that deal done. Um, that all fell apart cuz KD said he didn’t want to go back there. He’s since talked about it more and all that stuff and podcast appearances, but ultimately though, I mean, that would have been that would have been a great pickup for them. But you still have the the situation probably play out the same way with Beiel post all that. But I do like them and where they’re at if they added uh Kuminga to their situation long term as well. But yeah, the Kuminga situation is absolutely messy and it’s frankly been going on for way too long at this point. It well and that’s true. a lot of these restricted free agent guys. Cam Thomas getting a little a little aggravated with with Zack Low getting and I get why maybe he’d be a little bit annoyed at this point in the summer. Josh Giddy as well. These guys stuck in restricted free agency. So, uh and by the way, a moment ago I said Kaminga to the Warriors. I meant to the Suns. Uh so the Suns are a team that have interest, but trading for him is tough. The Heat and the Nets have not pursued Kaminga. The Nets were the one team that we were looking at saying, could they just throw a big offer at Jonathan Kaminga and force the Warriors to blink? But that didn’t happen. The Nets didn’t go that route. Instead, they went and got Michael Porter Jr. I don’t Would you rather have Kaminga at 30 million a year or Michael Porter Jr. at the contract he’s at now? I mean, what’s Porter at? Like 40 40 plus. Uh, for Brooklyn, I would probably rather have Kaminga. I think Porter is the better player. Um, you could maybe argue Kaminga has the higher ceiling. You got a little bit of a young uh younger player there with a longer runway at that point. Yeah, pro. And you got a first with Porter Jr. too. An unpro that’s true. That’s true. So maybe that’s where it it varies, but Sure. Yeah. is is I’m just curious about the whole Porter things anyway. Like I I don’t know how much it extends beyond him just being salary for for them. how much they truly like him, how much they’re trying to build around him. I think they have to like him. I think they like him to some degree. Cam Johnson they wanted multiple first for. To pay Porter Jr. over $80 million just to get a first round pick would be crazy. They have to Yeah, but that that first is valuable. That comes at a time where it’s super late for the Nuggets. Like they who knows what the Nuggets team is at that point. Sure, it’s valuable, but that’s a lot of salary to eat to get that that first. If you don’t even really like Michael, they have to have some level. Yeah, of interest in him. Him and Michael Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas are going to just fight each other for shots every night in Brooklyn. That’s okay. That’s okay. They’re going to be rebuilding and and doing all that. That’s all right. You know, there’ll be nights when both those guys are on and they’ll they’ll win some games. Maybe maybe to their dismay, they’ll win some games. But uh but the Kings interested in Kaminga, but the Warriors don’t want what the Kings have to offer. So, that’s a no-go. But what about this? This to me is interesting. The Chicago Bulls interested in Kaminga. Now they’ve got to figure out the the Giddy situation. The Giddy is also on a restricted free agent issue right now where they haven’t come up with a deal for him. So they need to get Giddy done first, but then they could potentially go after Jonathan Kaminga. However, uh Chicago does not want to trade Kobe White and it’s unlikely Golden State would pursue Vauvich in a signing trade for Kaminga, which I don’t blame the Warriors on that. V is, you know, he’s a good player, but he’s well past his prime and I don’t know how much he actually helps Golden State right now with the mobility issues that he’s got, but I Dunumu is a player that I think would fit the Warriors extremely well and a player that they would have interest in. So, could the Bulls theoretically get a deal done for Josh Giddy? They are right now $43 million below the first apron cap that they are hardcapped at. Could they get a deal done for Josh Giddy? Let’s say you pay him 20 25 probably if we’re being realistic. And then you have enough wiggle room left to where you could send IO Dunmu and whatever other contracts need to put in. Maybe it’s a Javon Carter who’s expiring, something like that. Maybe it’s a Jaylen Smith goes into a into a deal and then and then you bring in Jonathan Kaminga from the Golden State Warriors and the Warriors get back a guard who would fit pretty pretty well with Iodum. Although maybe that would impact the DA Anthony Melton situation Donnie the way this goes around and around and around but I do think maybe Chicago is the solution to this whole problem with with Kaminga where they could they’ve got some interesting players to send back. it would make sense for them to target him, especially as they’re a younger team. And I could see where both the Warriors and the Bulls could see an eye to eye on a deal. Yeah, makes sense. Uh, if you’re Chicago, is that the right decision to make in terms of like which of the guards? When was the last time Chicago made the right decision? We’re we’re hopeful that they’ll start making the right decisions, but they’ve got three of those uh high usage, high minute guards there. Like, is that the right one to give up? Iodunu. Um, probably not. I probably would come off of Kobe White and be more willing to move him. They’re more favoring Kobe. Mhm. And I get why, but he’s a high-scoring guard. He needs the ball. Josh Giddy. I I could see Iodumu fitting better long term with Josh Giddy than Kobe White does. But that said, Kobe White has some big Look, I’ll tell you what though, Donnie, if the Bulls goal is to be a playin team and and reap a little bit of that playoff revenue and then bow out, getting a highscoring guy that puts eyeballs on your team and in Kobe White, keeping him around and making him a priority makes sense. And I like Kobe White. I like him just fine. I’m just in terms of the overall Bulls concept here, what they’re trying to do, I don’t know. But in general, if I’m the Bulls, if I can add a young talent like Kaminga, at least that’s a step in the right direction because I’m getting another young player to come in. But like, like I said, when was the last time the Bulls did something that I looked at and said that that’s the right move to make. Unnecessary shots fired. I love I love that the Kings and the Bulls are interested in Kaminga because we’ve got the Kings and then the Kings East in Chicago. God. Well, we’ll see what happens. But yeah, this whole situation with Kaminga is just crazy overall. And I I thought it was a real interesting nugget that he was going to be a part of that trade as well at the deadline. That that was interesting. I didn’t expect that to be the case, but uh you know, that’s an alternate reality where Kevin Durant is okay going back to to Golden State. And he was not. Yeah, he was not. Yeah, that would have been fascinating. You know, I could see Kobe White, Josh Giddy, Modis Bisellis, Jonathan Kaminga. I don’t know exactly how all the puzzle pieces fit, but that’s some interesting young talent. I like what they’ve got brewing here for sure. I do like it. Um, that kid’s interesting. They’re they’re a few years away from being a couple years away, but they’re two years away from being two years away. Yeah, that’s the saying. Yeah, I like it. I do like what they got brewing here though. It It looks fun. So perhaps that will be the solution to the Jonathan Kaminga situation. Otherwise, maybe like you said, Kaminga just picks up the qualifying offer and says, “I’m going to ball out this year and I’m going to hit free agency next year and then I’m going to cash in.” But where’s the opportunity for that? That’s the problem. That’s why he’s probably reluctant, too. There’ll be cap space next year, but No, no, no. To ball out. Like, where’s the opportunity? Very true. because Steve has already shown he’s perfectly fine giving him a DNP like and he’s playing behind Jimmy Butler and that’s probably part of why as you’re saying like they want to get that money locked in now. Yeah. I I don’t man I don’t know where the opportunity is to be that’s the one thing about that uh is that he’s going to sit there disgruntled because he’s never going to get it was said in the article he wants to go to a team that that can give him the role that he thinks he should have and uh sees him as a star talent. I just don’t know if he’s ever gonna get that opportunity in Golden State to show that he can be that to where a team could try to trade for him and stuff like that. So, absolutely, that’s he I don’t know what winds up happening. We could also live in a world where he takes that then has to take a one-year deal after that. Then, like, man, it could get messy. That would be that would be quite a mess. That would be quite a mess if that’s where we’re at. I hope we see resolution here sooner rather than later. Maybe maybe the Bulls are the lifeline that Jonathan Kaminga needs, but they’ve got to get their Josh Giddy situation figured out first and there’ll be other teams interested, but right now the Warriors Kaminga remain in a staring contest and that’s made the rest of their offse moves also held up. Al Horford, the Anthony Melton. That’s so that’s so crazy to me. Sitting around looking at their watches going, “Guys, any day now. Hey, remember us? We’re still here.” Yeah, that they they must have really got sold on the vision. I respect it. It’s just crazy because you don’t typically see it. So, Right. Right. All right, everybody. Well, make sure you do subscribe right here to the channel. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. Till next time, see you and stay safe.

In this video Trevor Lane and Donnie Freeman take a look at the latest rumors involving Jonathan Kuminga, who is stuck in a staring contest with the Warriors in restricted free agency. Can the Bulls provide the solution to the problem?

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