Warriors Trade Deadline Predictions After Kuminga Demands Trade

The Golden State Warriors are finally eligible to trade Jonathan Kuminga, and he's hoping they do so soon.

ESPN's Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported Thursday that Kuminga has demanded a trade.

The Warriors don't have to trade him before the Feb. 5 deadline. They could keep him for the rest of this season, pick up the team option in his contract and look to trade him next season.

But this excerpt from Charania and Slater all but seals that it will happen before the trade deadline.

"Team sources said that essentially every major figure on the ground level of the operation -- most notably Kuminga, Kerr and the veterans watching a $22.5 million player sit on the bench while the team is stuck in a 'mediocre' state, as Jimmy Butler called it -- agree that the best resolution is to trade Kuminga prior to the deadline."

Here are five predictions for the Warriors over the next three weeks.

Warriors Lose Michael Porter Jr. Sweepstakes

Charania and Slater had a shocking revelation in their report.

"As of this week, the Warriors hadn't talked to the Brooklyn Nets in more than a month and have never shown real interest in a trade for wing Michael Porter Jr., league sources said."

My guess is the Warriors have interest in Porter, and they will be among the finalists for him.

But as they hem and haw over which first-round picks to trade and how protected they are, the Nets will accept the Detroit Pistons' trade package that includes multiple first-round picks and a young asset in Ron Holland or Jaden Ivey.

To be clear, the Warriors can and should beat the Pistons' package. But I have little faith that they will.

Warriors Wait Until February to Make a Trade

The Warriors spend much of the next two weeks hoping the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers become sellers to give them more options, but it never happens.

They continue to call the Pelicans to see if their Trey Murphy III stance changes, but it doesn't.

They wait and wait and wait some more for anyone they really want to hit the trade market, and it never happens.

Warriors Trade Kuminga for Jerami Grant

Finally, the Warriors settle for Grant because he fills a need and costs no draft capital. Here are the trade details:

Warriors get: Jerami Grant
Blazers get: Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, Trayce Jackson-Davis

That's the whole trade. No picks. The Blazers get off the final two seasons of Grant's deal, which is huge for them so they can use that cap space on pieces that fit better with Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and Donovan Clingan.

Charania and Slater had this interesting passage as part of their report.

"League sources said the Warriors have been prioritizing expiring contracts in return for Kuminga. They've declined the idea of taking back long-term contracts unless they view it as no-brainer positive value."

It's not clear if the Warriors think Grant is a "no-brainer positive value," but with time running out and their options dwindling, they settle for a 6'7" wing averaging 20.0 points per game who shoots 38.9 percent from three.

Warriors Give Final 2 Roster Spots to Spencer, Bassey

After trading three players for one, the Warriors would have two roster spots left and just $2.2 million in cap space below the second apron.

That's not enough money to target a veteran on the buyout market, so they'd look internally to fill their roster.

Pat Spencer is the most obvious choice, as he's been with the team the entire year and has earned it.

Charles Bassey is averaging 17.7 points and 10.7 rebounds for the Santa Cruz Warriors. After trading Jackson-Davis, they need a center for games Al Horford misses. The 6'10" Bassey would fill in nicely.

Warriors Make No Major Center Upgrade

I'm sure the Warriors would love to end up with Robert Williams III as well as Grant, but to match Williams' $13.5 million salary, the Warriors would have to trade Moses Moody. The final trade would probably be Grant and Williams for Kuminga, Moody, Hield and Al Horford.

I'm guessing the Warriors don't view Williams as much of an upgrade over Horford, and even if they do, it's hard to justify trading Moody, a 23-year-old with two more years left on his contract, for Williams, an oft-injured 28-year-old in the final year of his contract.

The logic is similar for why they'd pass on Daniel Gafford. If it means trading Moody, which it would in this case because the Warriors have already traded Kuminga, then it's hard to justify it.

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