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By Alex Kirschenbaum
Contributing Entertainment Writer
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The Golden State Warriors entered the 2025-26 NBA season with guardedly optimistic expectations. After trading to acquire six-time All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler at last year's deadline, Golden State's defense tightened up, and the team went 23-7 to close out the regular season.
The Warriors bested the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, but injuries to 11-time All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry and Butler helped Golden State get knocked out of the second round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Golden State brought back guard De'Anthony Melton and sign former five-time All-Star big man Al Horford to bolster its roster over the summer. Rookie shooting guard Will Richard, the No. 56 pick out of Florida, has already emerged as a legitimate rotation piece.
And yet, the Warriors have gone a disappointing 9-9 to start the season, and currently are hovering around in play-in tournament range again. The club currently occupies the Western Conference's No. 8 seed.
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But Golden State has one major mechanism for roster improvement that it seems willing to explore this season, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line: trading re-signed power forward Jonathan Kuminga. Stein is convinced a Kuminga deal is "inevitable" this season.
Golden State went 4-1 to kick off its season, but the fitful availability of Curry led to a subsequent 2-5 dip. Stein reports that "various corners of the league" believe the Warriors will trade Kuminga in time for this season's Feb. 5 deadline.
Kuminga's Movable Money
After a lengthy restricted free agency negotiation process, the 23-year-old agreed to a two-year, $46.8 million contract with the Warriors prior to the start of the season. The deal has a $24.3 million team option. Because of the timing of the agreement, Kuminga cannot be dealt until at least Jan. 15.
"It’s one of the best trade chips in the league," an executive informed Stein.
The 6-foot-8 vet, who's currently sidelined with a knee injury, has posted middling averages of 13.8 points on .478/.324/.771 shooting splits, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in the 13 games he's played for the Warriors so far (12 starts).
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