Since the beginning of the Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade conversations, the price the Sacramento Kings would have to pay hasn’t seemed to change. The Golden State Warriors have been adamant that an unprotected first-round pick would be required to pry the former lottery pick away from San Francisco.
Sacramento has stayed firm on its offer of Malik Monk and protected first-round pick for Kuminga, which is where things stand as of today. Only time would tell if that deal would be a win for Sacramento, but according to Dalton Johnson at NBC Sports Bay Area, a sign-and-trade isn’t looking likely at all.
“Any chances of a sign-and-trade are virtually over. ‘That’s done with,’ is all I’ve heard,” Johnson posted.
The deadline for Jonathan Kuminga’s qualifying offer is Wednesday, two days into training camp
Any chances of a sign-and-trade are virtually over. “That’s done with,” is all I’ve heard. https://t.co/NZ76Becld5
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) September 27, 2025
You would hear a multitude of responses when it comes to a Kuminga trade being a smart move for Sacramento. Some Warriors fans and media see Malik Monk as a great return and a much better fit on the roster, while others believe Kuminga would be worth the player option he is reportedly requesting.
I was personally for making the trade with a protected first-round pick, but that was always more about freeing up time for players like Keon Ellis and Nique Clifford and less about Malik as a player.
Monk has become underrated as of late, partially because his trade value seems non-existent. Despite his lack of interest around the league and the absurd amount of guards on the roster, Sacramento should still benefit from having Monk on the roster. If you look at the 65 games that Monk played in last season, Sacramento was 36-29 and only 4-13 without him.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a trade. The Kings thing’s never made sense to me…Kuminga has $48M guaranteed on the table. Does he take it or does he not? Around the league, people are stunned it’s gone this far.”@timkawakami on @WillardAndDibs
🎧 https://t.co/upUfPiJF7F pic.twitter.com/gS40KTderI
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) September 25, 2025
Jonathan Kuminga would be a nice shot to take for the Kings, but it wasn’t going to come without its risks.
Kuminga has been a good player for the Warriors, but his skillset doesn’t exactly lend itself to modern basketball. Kuminga hasn’t shown that he can be effective without the ball in his hands, and trying to make that happen on the Kings seemed like an impossible task.
In a future version of the Kings without Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, Kuminga might make a lot of sense. His cutting and athleticism would pair well with Domantas Sabonis, and he would be an upgrade from DeRozan defensively. The issue with making this move now is that you’re giving up a future asset and tying your books up while you still need to re-sign Ellis and Keegan Murray.
In the end, it makes more sense for new GM Scott Perry to evaluate what he has this year and be patient with young players and draft capital.
May 10, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) and guard Gary Payton II (0) warm up before game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images / David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Again, this (sort of) depends on who you ask. The difference is that Golden State doesn’t have a full roster and plans on using Kuminga as a trade chip later on. This adds another layer to this situation because if Kuminga returns, the contract he accepts will dictate how easily it will be to move him.
If Kuminga signs the qualifying offer, he will get an inherent “no-trade” clause, which allows him to veto any trade. If Kuminga doesn’t agree to a contract extension, the next team could end up giving up assets for only a rental of the 22-year-old. If Kuminga does end up getting his wish of a player-option, he will be similarly hard to move, as a team would need to be fine with keeping him on the roster for three seasons at the AAV he signs for.
The best option for Golden State is to get Kuminga to sign a deal with a team option, which provides insurance in case they cannot move him. A team trading for him will have an eject button to hit should the experiment not work.
This 40-second Malik Monk sequence…
-Pinpoint kickout pass to Fox for a corner 3
-Athletic block on Poole at the rim
-Deep 3 off the bounce pass
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/m2m86mDDzL
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnor) April 29, 2023
This may not be the consensus, but I’m not convinced that the Warriors will be able to use Kuminga to bring in a better package than Monk and a lottery-protected first. Monk would give the Warriors bench the scoring and playmaking boost it needs when both Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry are on the bench or unavailable. Brandon Poziemski, Moses Moody, and Buddy Hield do bring some of what Monk does, but none are on Monk’s level when it comes to making plays for others.
If the goal for the Warriors is a championship this year, it would be hard to convince me that moving Hield to a third team isn’t worth it to bring in Monk.
As I mentioned, I wasn’t against a Kuminga trade because I believe Sacramento needs to take some chances and find a way to balance out their roster sooner rather than later. However, running it back isn’t the end of the world for the Kings.
Bringing in Kuminga creates just as many questions as it does answers for Sacramento and further clouds the prospects of re-signing Ellis and Murray. There is also the chance that Kuminga is available at the deadline or next summer, depending on his choice this Wednesday.
For now, Sacramento might be better off taking things slow, as the team is more than one player away from being taken seriously.