The Warriors' dynasty will come to an end soon -- if it hasn't already. But one of the young players tasked with leading Golden State into a post-Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green future is Jonathan Kuminga.
After a breakout 2023-24 NBA season, the 21-year-old forward cemented himself as the Warriors' star of the present and future, and the organization -- from coach Steve Kerr to general manager Mike Dunleavy to owner Joe Lacob -- has made it clear they want Kuminga around for a long time.
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne joined 95.7 The Game's "Willard & Dibs" on Thursday, and stated she believes the Warriors will go "big game hunting" this offseason for another star player to pair with Golden State's dynastic core.
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Outside of possibly re-signing Thompson, the Warriors are unlikely to make a significant move through free agency due to the team's financial constraints, which means any big move will have to be made through the trade market. OK, so what does Golden State have to trade? Well, probably not Kuminga, who Shelburne believes the Warriors have no interest in moving.
"Not at all," Shelburne said when asked if a Kuminga trade is on the table. "I think he's pretty much ... it's going to get complicated because of his extension talks and how much money they have, but I think they'll do everything they can to keep him. I don't think they even want to talk about him."
So if not Kuminga, then who, or what, do the Warriors have to offer?
"They have a pretty good set of assets," Shelburne added. "They have some other good, young players outside of Kuminga. They have draft picks, they have [Andrew] Wiggins, they have Gary Payton, they have a lot of options there. They have a lot of optionality. And then there's Chris Paul, that contract is very interesting for a lot of teams for a lot of reasons."
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The Warriors have other young, exciting players like center Trayce Jackson-Davis and guards Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody, but Golden State, similar to Kuminga, likely views them as players to build around as well.
After back-to-back disappointing seasons, the Warriors might need to make a big move this summer to keep their championship goals alive. And if they do, any significant addition won't come cheap and likely will cost them one of their future cornerstone players.