The five-year saga for Jonathan Kuminga in Golden State is finally over.
The Golden State Warriors have finally traded Jonathan Kuminga, according to multiple reports (with ESPN's Shams Charania first to report) - but not for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In a surprise, the Dubs are dealing Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks and acquiring center Kristaps Porzingis in exchange. The Warriors also reportedly dealt backup center Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Toronto Raptors for a second-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, according to Charania, who added that the pick Golden State acquired is originally from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The move almost certainly ends any Antetokounmpo pursuit that Golden State had been chasing for years. It also brings the five-year saga that was Kuminga's time with Golden State to an end.
Drafted seventh overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga showed flashes of superstar potential for the Warriors at times, but never seemed to find a consistent role in Steve Kerr's rotation between injuries and a roster fit. He was publicly benched during last year's playoffs and tried to find a new home during the offseason, but ultimately returned to Golden State on a very tradable contract.
For a portion of this season, things seemed to be going well for all interested parties, as Kuminga played the way Kerr intended he would to fit around Steph Curry. That didn't last long, though, and Kuminga was ultimately benched for more than a month, with a trade expected imminently - until Jimmy Butler tore his ACL and went out for the season. Kuminga came back into the lineup for one full game, but got injured again in his second night back in the lineup. That proved to be his final game for Golden State.
Porzingis,30, could be a tantalizing fit for a Curry-centric Warriors team, as he's a 7-foot-2 center who has made 36.6% of his 3-pointers in his career. But the Latvian has also consistently battled injuries during his 10-year career, has only played in 17 games this season and hasn't suited up for Atlanta in almost a month. He comes with a $30.7 million contract for this season, according to Spotrac, but is set to be a free agent in the offseason.
Hield, 33, had some key moments for the Warriors in the playoffs last year and is a beloved teammate. But he's mostly fallen out of the Dubs rotation this year, and his $9.2 million salary was needed to make the trade for Porzingis work under the NBA's salary cap rules.
Jackson-Davis was drafted in the second round in 2024 by Golden State and was in his third season with the Dubs. He's been a depth piece this season, averaging only 11.4 minutes per game. By acquiring Porzingis, Golden State had a glut of players for the power forward and center positions, thus making a trade helpful to both the Warriors' roster and salary cap management and to Jackson-Davis potentially getting more playing time on a contending team.
This breaking news story has been updated.
More Warriors
- Warriors' Draymond Green at center of firestorm over wife's pregnancy
- Jonathan Kuminga's renewed Warriors honeymoon phase looks dead and gone
- Warriors sniping at each other in the media amid total meltdown
- Things have gotten historically sad for ex-Warriors star Klay Thompson
For all of our Bay Area sports coverage, sign up for The Catch newsletter here.
This article originally published at Warriors pivot from Giannis chase, trade Kuminga for Hawks' Porzingis.
Category: General Sports
