If rumors are to be believed, the Portland Trail Blazers could be active in the lead-up to next month’s NBA Trade Deadline.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor has suggested the Blazers have been linked to out-of-favor
Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga on the trade market.
League sources told Yahoo Sports at least three other teams have been linked to Kuminga: the Blazers, Pelicans and Wizards.
Hypothetically, Portland has Jerami Grant or Jrue Holiday to realistically offer in a trade. The Warriors are already small enough as is because Kerr has leaned heavily into three-guard and four-guard lineups, so Holiday should probably be avoided by general manager Mike Dunleavy. But Grant makes sense. At age 31, Grant is the odd man out for a young Portland team, but he can still offer versatile defense, reliable 3-point shooting and some shot creation.
If either Grant or Holiday were to be involved, the Warriors would have to supply more salary to get the contracts to work.
Kuminga, who can’t be traded until January 15, had a controversial offseason, as he and the Warriors were engaged in protracted negotiations over his restricted free agency.
Coach Steve Kerr has played the 23-year-old Congolese forward sparingly this season with Kuminga suiting up in 18 games at 24.8 minutes a night. He’s averaging 11.8 points on 32% shooting from three, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
