While the Jonathan Kuminga situation has the Warriors stuck at a standstill, it appears there was an effort on the player’s side to facilitate a move to an Eastern Conference team.
Kuminga’s representation explored sign-and-trade scenarios that would allow the Chicago Bulls to acquire the 22-year-old wing while also retaining restricted-free agent point guard Josh Giddey, NBA Insider Jake Fischer reported during a livestream on Bleacher Report’s YouTube page on Thursday.
Fischer also noted that a deal between these two teams would’ve made more sense for Golden State had the Warriors been able to receive point guard Lonzo Ball from Chicago in return, which now is impossible as the veteran point guard instead was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this month.
Fischer’s report also indicated doubt the Warriors are interested in veteran big man Nikola Vučević, citing hesitancy around Golden State’s enthusiasm in potentially losing Kuminga for a player on an expiring contract.
The Warriors are the only NBA team who has yet to add or re-sign a player in free agency, with the lack of moves likely being directly tied to a lack of a resolution in the ongoing Kuminga saga.
While it appears there at minimum was diligence done on a deal that would have sent Kuminga to the Windy City, there likely will need to be another avenue for a viable solution to conclude the ongoing saga that has put Golden State’s offseason plans on hold for the moment.
