As the NBA offseason heads towards the beginning of September, the main headline continues to be the ongoing saga between the Golden State Warriors and restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
It has been reported that Kuminga has turned down Golden State’s contract offer and that the Warriors are not budging on their offer.
While the two sides continue to try and work things out, it has cost the Warriors multiple free agent targets, though they do reportedly have deals in place with multiple free agents that will likely be finalized after Kuminga’s situation is resolved.
Despite this, the Warriors are likely still searching the free agent and trade market to find ways to upgrade their roster entering the new season.
Warriors urged to pursue a trade for Mavericks’ P.J. Washington
FanSided’s G.C. Bellchamber recently urged the Warriors to pursue P.J. Washington from the Dallas Mavericks as a replacement for Kuminga.
“While it is highly unlikely that the Mavericks would have any interest in Kuminga, given their aforementioned logjam in the frontcourt, the Warriors are also almost certainly planning on moving on from Kuminga sometime within the next year,” Bellchamber wrote. “Therefore, if they are eventually able to offload Kuminga’s salary to an interested team, they could then set their sights on Washington as the ideal addition in their frontcourt.”
It is clear that Kuminga’s time in Golden State is nearing an end either this offseason or before the trade deadline in February with the young forward’s role in Steve Kerr’s rotation continuing to be unclear.
Because of this, the Warriors may be looking at options to replace him if they are able to move him this season and Washington has continued to be a player they have been linked to.
The 27-year-old forward is a solid scorer, rebounder and defender who would be a solid addition to the Warriors’ roster, though his fit alongside Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green in the frontcourt is an interesting one.
Despite this, Washington has shown that he is willing to fit his game to whatever role a team needs him to play and that would likely be the case in Golden State.
While that may be the case, he is expected to sign an extension with the Mavericks at some point before the start of the regular season and if he does so, he will not be eligible to be traded until next offseason.
If this does end up being the case, Golden State may have to wait until next summer to pursue Washington unless they are able to work out a deal with Dallas this summer, which seems highly unlikely as they continue to deal with Kuminga’s situation.
