Life moves fast in the NBA.
Just a few months ago, Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga were heralded as the young centerpieces of the Warriors’ next timeline behind the dynastic trio. Now their names are being brought up as logical trade chips if Golden State wants to alter the future of their franchise.
During his appearance on ABC 7 on Sunday night, longtime Bay Area sports writer Tim Kawakami of The Athletic laid out a potential trade partner for the Warriors.
“I don’t know which games might come up,” Kawakami said. “But look at Toronto’s roster. They kinda had a bad season. Pascal Siakam is a star – can the Warriors get into that? OG Anunoby, he’s another really interesting player. Not saying the Warriors can get them, but when things start moving around, and they can put Jordan Poole in the mix and maybe Jonathan Kuminga. …
“I’m not predicting anything. Those kind of rosters seem to match for a trade. Toronto has a lot of guys the Warriors could use. The Warriors might have a guy Toronto could use. I’d take a look at that one.”
Poole is 23 and set a new career high in points per game (20.3) but remained erratic with his handle and a liability on defense in his fourth season. His four-year, $123 million extension is set to kick in this fall.
Kuminga, 20, will enter this third season this fall trying to secure a bigger role. Kuminga thrived in the extended absence of Andrew Wiggins to end the regular season but his minutes dried up in the playoffs.
Siakam, 29, is coming off his second All-Star season and averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. The lengthy 6-foot-9 power forward is also known as a two-way player with solid defense.
The 25-year-old Anunoby, a 6-foot-7 wing, has a good defensive reputation, can hit the corner three and is a deft cutter/finisher. Sounds like Kuminga, right?
Poole is due to have a cap hit of $28.7 million next season as the team’s third-highest paid player, above Draymond Green ($27.6 million) and Andrew Wiggins ($24.3 million), who is taking a Dubs Discount to keep costs down. Kuminga is due to have a $6 million cap hit in the third season of his rookie deal, putting him and Poole at $34.7 combined next year.
For reference, Siakam is due to have a $37.9 million cap hit, which is more than double the cap hit of Anunoby ($18.6 million). It’s also worth noting that Siakam is entering the final year of his contract, so it might just be a one-year rental for any team that tries to get him this summer.
Anunoby might be the only feasible option here, considering Siakam’s contract. Even if the Warriors hypothetically traded Poole and Kuminga straight up for Siakam, they’d be taking on more money for the lone season of the All-Star.
We still haven’t seen the ceiling for Poole and Kuminga, but we have a pretty good idea of what we’re getting from Siakam and Anunoby these days. If the Warriors do execute a trade with Toronto, it’d be a win-now move to help the aging dynasty core.
