Oct 13, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoot the layup against Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) during the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Bill Simmons Makes Case for Pistons to Target Warriors Forward

Originally posted on Detroit Pistons on SI
By Kevin McCormick | Last updated May 16, 2025 10:34 AM ET

While it won't be as sizable as it was last summer, the Detroit Pistons will have a decent amount of cap space at their disposal in free agency. Ahead of his second offseason with the organization, Bill Simmons made an argument for Trajan Langdon to keep his eye on a former lottery pick.

Since being drafted No. 7 overall back in 2021, Jonathan Kuminga has had an up-and-down run with the Golden State Warriors. He's shown promising flashes at times, but there's also been stretches where Steve Kerr has deemed him unplayable. Weeks away from entering restricted free agency, it seems unlikely that Kuminga will be returning to the Warriors in 2026.

During a recent episode of his podcast, Simmons made a case for a team to take a flyer on Kuminga's potential. He ended up name-dropping the Pistons as a possible team that could consider bringing him in to pair with their young core.

"If I was the Pistons," Simmons said. "Be like you know what, let's look at all the tapes of when Kuminga played 30-plus minutes and try to figure out what that looks like on our team."

“If I were the Pistons … let’s look at all the tape of when Kuminga played 30+ minutes and try to figure out what that looks like on our team.”

(via @BillSimmons Podcast) pic.twitter.com/XDnckXOTOl
— Pistons Jack (@pistons_jack) May 12, 2025

Kuminga, 22, is still years away from his prime. There is also no telling what a change of scenery and fresh opportunity could do for him and his development. Though the fit isn't seamless, the Warriors forward is on a similar career timeline as Detroit's core.

Simmons built his case around Kuminga being productive when given the chance to play extended minutes. While the sample size is incredibly small, his theory does have some merit. In games where he logged 30 or more minutes this season, Kuminga averaged 26.5 PPG and 8.3 RPG on 49.1% shooting from the field.

With the Pistons already having a handful of wings who need playing time to develop, Kuminga would still be part of a logjam with the Pistons. On top of that, he isn't much of a consistent threat from beyond the arc. That said, he is still a hyper-athletic forward with a lot of potential. If the Pistons were able to sign him at a discount, it could be a move worth considering for Langdon and the front office.

This article first appeared on Detroit Pistons on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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