Another Brooklyn Nets player could have been shipped to the Warriors as part of their trade for veteran guard Dennis Schröder, but it likely would have come with a risky cost.
To acquire both Schröder and forward Cam Johnson, Golden State "almost certainly" would have had to surrender former lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga to Brooklyn, NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported in their latest column Sunday.
The Nets received interest in Schröder, Johnson and forward Dorian Finney-Smith and opened "exploratory conversations" with interested teams, which included the Warriors, who expressed interest in all three players, ESPN's Shams Charania reported last week.
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But it appears Golden State wasn't ready to pull the plug on the Kuminga Experiment quite yet, as the 22-year-old still is trying to solidify a clear role with the team in Year 4.
Kuminga has shown glimpses of his NBA potential and ability to step up as Golden State's secondary scorer alongside superstar Steph Curry -- a role the team has longed for all season following the departure of franchise icon Klay Thompson last offseason.
While Kuminga hasn't been consistent with that particular role, it seems the Warriors will keep their patience alive in hoping he eventually will.
"It makes more sense for Golden State to give it more time before going to such lengths to see A) how Kuminga continues to handle a role that the Warriors have gradually been expanding and B) whether saving Kuminga for down-the-road trade talks can help them land a true All-Star-caliber sidekick for Stephen Curry after the Warriors' unsuccessful offseason trade pursuits of Paul George and Lauri Markkanen," Stein and Fischer wrote.
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For now, the Warriors will hope their acquisition of Schröder -- in addition to the continued growth of Kuminga -- will solve a lingering issue right now.