Report Reveals Kuminga’s Reaction to Warriors Trading Him to Hawks

If the Atlanta Hawks weren’t on your radar as a potential Jonathan Kuminga destination, don’t feel bad.

They weren’t on Kuminga’s radar either.

NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson wrote on X that sources told him Kuminga was “shocked” to be sent to Atlanta. Johnson added Kuminga’s camp hadn’t been in contact with the Hawks.

Kuminga was traded along with Buddy Hield to the Hawks for 7’2″ big Kristaps Porzingis.

Why the Hawks Traded for Kuminga

The Hawks have pretty good roster depth at the forward positions. They have superstar Jalen Johnson starting at the 4, which is Kuminga’s best position. They have 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher starting at the 3.

Corey Kispert is a productive 3 off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker plays most of his minutes at the 2, but he can play the 3 if the Hawks want to go small.

Suffice to say, Kuminga might not have a big role.

This trade feels like it’s less about wanting Kuminga and more about wanting to have the possibility to use his contract in a big trade this offseason.

Kuminga has a team option for over $24 million for next season. The Hawks can pick up that option and immediately trade Kuminga with other players and picks for a star.

Had they kept Porzingis, an offseason trade would have been harder to pull off because Porzingis will be an unrestricted free agent.

The Return Wasn’t Ideal, but It Was the Right Call to Move Kuminga Now

I’m anything but a Kuminga apologist. I generally agree with the points KNBR’s John Dickinson laid out here.

But since this past offseason, Kuminga has been trapped in a place he didn’t want to be, and it was the right thing to do to get him out.

Sure, he didn’t have to sign the two-year contract offer from the Warriors if he didn’t want to be in the Bay. But the only reason it came to that was he was a restricted free agent who had no control over leaving.

It would have been cruel had the Warriors kept him against his will for the next few months just to hold out hope they would find a better offseason trade. And considering this front office has been so resistant to trading future first-round draft capital, they probably wouldn’t have ever found a trade they liked.

They settle for Porzingis, which is not ideal for reasons I argued here.

But keeping Kuminga and doing nothing at the deadline would have been worse.