The Washington Wizards are the latest team to be linked to a move for Jonathan Kuminga, with the Golden State Warriors still looking to explore all avenues regarding their young forward in free agency.

According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Wizards have “entered the mix in the last 24 hours” after the Sacramento Kings were previously speculated on Wednesday as a strong contender for the former seventh overall pick.

Reports of Washington’s interest brings some intrigue on what Golden State could get back in a potential sign-and-trade, with the possibility that a detail of the Jordan Poole-Chris Paul deal from two years ago could be involved in a Kuminga transaction.

The Warriors could get their 2030 first-round pick back from the Wizards

When the Warriors traded Poole to the Wizards on draft day in 2023, they also gave up former first-round pick Patrick Baldwin Jr and Ryan Rollins, along with a top 20 protected first-round pick in 2030.

With Poole now recently being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, and with Baldwin and Rollins both having moved on from the Wizards rather quickly, none of that trio will find themselves involved this time around.

However, the pick that Washington now own from Golden State could certainly become an interesting element in any discussions surrounding the two teams on a Kuminga sign-and-trade.

Slater also reported on Thursday that the Warriors are after a promising player and a first-round pick in a Kuminga deal, something that may be seen as over ambitious yet is obviously indicative of the high price they want to set on the 22-year-old.

The Wizards may be more than willing to give that 2030 first-round pick back, though how valuable it actually is should still be up for debate. It’s easy to say that all three of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green may have retired by that point, but that actually works in Golden State’s favor in terms of retaining the pick without having to actually wipe out the protections currently on it.

Will the Warriors be a top 10 team in 2030? Given their timeline perhaps not, meaning they would retain the pick and simply relinquish their second-round pick to the Wizards. If they are a top 10 team, Washington get a pick in the 20s that probably won’t hurt Golden State a whole lot.

It therefore remains to be seen whether the Warriors will really be motivated by removing those protections, and how much they actually value that as part of a Kuminga sign-and-trade. Needless to say it wouldn’t be the main asset in a deal, though it’s still interesting to see if it plays a factor in ongoing discussions.