Insider talks up Golden State Warriors making trade for one the best scorers in the NBA

Golden State Warriors urged to target DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan is past his prime, but he is one of the best pure scorers the league has seen in the last 15 seasons. While he is not a defensive savant like Jimmy Butler, the two play the same position, and if the Warriors lose a forward to injury, he would be a reliable replacement at a reasonable cost.

“What happens if you’re the Warriors and Jimmy Butler pulls a calf or something, and he’s going to be down for two, three months?” asked ClutchPoints’ insider Brett Siegel. 

“You have the ability to make a trade for DeMar DeRozan, whose contract isn’t guaranteed for the 2026-27 season in full.”

The Warriors, it seems, are more eager to accept Malik Monk over DeRozan, although the pairing of DeRozan and Zach LaVine has been done before to limited success, so the Kings might be incentivized to try something new, and adding a young, talented player in exchange for a veteran like DeRozan would make sense, while keeping the Warriors highly competitive.

“It’s going to be one of those situations where things come up during the season,” said Siegel, noting that DeRozan’s contract is not a long-term commitment for the Warriors.

While Golden State and Sacramento might both like the sound of that deal in the coming months, Kuminga should do everything he can to avoid it.

Jonathan Kuminga should avoid being traded to the Kings

Kuminga has long made it clear that he believes he can be the centerpiece on a very good team, and the Warriors, built around veterans, have never given him a chance to thrive.

While the Kings are younger than Golden State, established scorers like LaVine, Malik Monk, and Domantas Sabonis will continue to hinder Kuminga.

“If the Kings were to trade for Jonathan Kuminga, what’s going to really change with this roster?” Siegel asked. “Because it’s kind of a lateral move for him in a sense where he’s going to be behind Zach LaVine, he’s going to be behind Domantas Sabonis.”

DeRozan has not been openly shopped on the market this summer, making an offseason trade unlikely, although once the season gets started and injuries start to pile up, it shouldn’t be surprising if the Kings end up being sellers, and Kuminga might be heading to the state capital whether he wants to or not.