![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MixCollage-27-Nov-2025-01-20-PM-6296.jpg\")
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Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors could get traded before the February deadline.<\/p>\n
The Golden State Warriors<\/a>\u2019 efforts to explore trade options for forward Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> have run into a familiar obstacle: the continued unavailability of one of their most coveted targets.<\/p>\n According to NBA<\/a> insider Marc Stein, the New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> remain unwilling to engage in discussions involving either of their prized wings.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pelicans are still resistant to trade interest in both Herb Jones<\/a> and Trey Murphy III<\/a>,\u201d Stein wrote this week in The Stein Line.<\/p>\n That resistance complicates what ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst\u00a0has previously described as Golden State\u2019s ideal outcome \u2014 a clean swap of Kuminga for a young, two-way wing on a cost-controlled contract without attaching a first-round pick.<\/p>\n Why Trey Murphy III Fits the Warriors\u2019 Ideal Trade Profile GettyDraymond Green of the Golden State Warriors steals the ball from Trey Murphy III of the New Orleans Pelicans.<\/p>\n During a Q&A session on Instagram Threads in December, Windhorst laid out the Warriors\u2019 internal vision for a Kuminga deal.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo-way wing in his 20s under control on a contract without having to add a 1st-rounder to deal,\u201d Windhorst wrote<\/a>, calling that the best-case scenario for Golden State\u2019s front office.<\/p>\n Murphy, 25, fits that profile almost perfectly.<\/p>\n The Pelicans wing is under contract on a four-year, $112 million deal, provides elite shooting at volume, and has developed into a versatile defender capable of guarding multiple positions. Murphy just became the Pelicans\u2019 franchise leader in 3-pointers made<\/a> after knocking down his fourth of seven threes made in a 125-106 loss to the Miami Heat<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n His combination of age, skill set, and contractual certainty makes him one of the league\u2019s most desirable archetypes.<\/p>\n NBA insider Chris Haynes previously reported<\/a> that Golden State has made inquiries about Murphy, confirming Jake Fischer\u2019s report that the Warriors\u2019 interest dates back at least to last summer.<\/p>\n \u201cSources say that the Warriors have a strong affinity for Murphy and have made outreach to New Orleans as recently as this summer,\u201d Fischer reported<\/a> in August. \u201cYet sources say that the Pelicans, to be clear, have batted away calls for the 25-year-old, valuing him highly.\u201d<\/p>\n Why the Warriors\u2019 Kuminga Trade Talks Are Stalled<\/p>\n While Golden State\u2019s interest in Murphy is clear, the central question remains whether New Orleans sees enough value in Kuminga to even open the door.<\/p>\n According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Pelicans are expected to be \u201cfront and center\u201d in any Kuminga discussions, but the internal evaluations are far from uniform.<\/p>\n \u201cFor quite some time now, the Warriors have been open about their desire to acquire the Pelicans\u2019 Trey Murphy III,\u201d Amick wrote<\/a> in December.\u00a0\u201cBut if they\u2019re going to use Kuminga to do that, then it would be helpful to know how, if at all, the Pelicans value the Warriors\u2019 23-year-old forward. For the time being, the feedback is mixed.\u201d<\/p>\n That mixed feedback is significant.<\/p>\n While some in the Pelicans\u2019 orbit remain intrigued by Kuminga\u2019s athletic ceiling, others have questioned his consistency, fit within New Orleans\u2019 system, and long-term development curve \u2014 concerns that make it difficult to justify moving a proven, productive player like Murphy.<\/p>\n Kuminga\u2019s Diminished Role Adds to Uncertainty<\/p>\n Kuminga\u2019s on-court situation in Golden State has only added to the ambiguity.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old has appeared in just one of the Warriors\u2019 last 11 games, most of them logged as coach\u2019s decisions, and a back injury kept him out of Saturday\u2019s 123-114 win over the Utah Jazz<\/a>.<\/p>\n That absence has raised questions about whether his uncertain role and trade rumors are weighing on him.<\/p>\n Warriors star Jimmy Butler<\/a> dismissed that notion.<\/p>\n \u201cNope. Not at all,\u201d Butler said<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cI told JK, you come in here and be the pro of pros. Come here and get your work done. You smile. You have a good time because he\u2019s still an NBA player, one of the best people in the world \u2014 and I\u2019m not even talking about basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n Why This Standoff Is Unlikely to Break Soon<\/p>\n From the Golden State\u2019s perspective, Murphy represents the type of long-term, system-friendly wing they lack. From New Orleans\u2019 perspective, Murphy is exactly the kind of player contenders should not trade.<\/p>\n That creates a stalemate.<\/p>\n Unless circumstances change, the Warriors\u2019 Kuminga trade talks may remain unresolved well beyond the deadline.<\/p>\n Between now and the Feb. 5 trade deadline, Golden State may be forced to either lower its sights, expand the asset package, or wait.<\/p>\n And in a league where leverage is everything, waiting is often the hardest part.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Warriors\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors could get traded before the February deadline. The Golden State…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-388993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Trey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2247049727-e1765562171838.jpg\")
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