Warriors Eye 6th Man of the Year Once Kuminga Domino Falls

Jonathan Kuminga‘s unresolved restricted free agency situation has kept the Golden State Warriors‘ other offseason moves hanging.

While it has been widely reported that deals are lined up for Al Hordord, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II once the Kuminga situation is resolved, another veteran point guard popped back in on the Warriors’ radar.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon remains a possibility for the Warriors.

“There’s still going to be plenty left to be discussed for Golden State even after Jonathan Kuminga’s situation does get resolved,” Fischer said on Bleacher Report’s “NBA Insider Notebook” livestreamed on Aug. 7. “But I still think Malcolm Brogdon is someone to keep an eye on for the Warriors.

“To my understanding, Golden State looked at Brogdon on the trade market back during last season when the Warriors were looking at options for De’Anthony Melton trade back then, before they went out and traded for Dennis Schroder. So, he’s been on their radar for some time. He’s definitely still on their radar now.”

Malcolm Brogdon’s Worst Season Since Rookie Year

Getty Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors drives towards the basket against Malcolm Brogdon.

Brogdon is coming off his second-lowest scoring season in his career. A left ankle sprain sidelined him for the final 28 games after only playing a career-low 24 games.

The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 12.7 points while shooting a career-worst 28.6% from the three-point line, 4.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game for the tanking Wizards.

Injuries have derailed his once-promising career. He has not played over 70 games since his rookie season. Since the Boston Celtics shipped him to Portland in 2023, Brogdon has only played in 63 games across the last two seasons.

When healthy, Brogdon provides a steady hand and tough perimeter defense off the bench with his 6 feet 10.5 inches wingspan.

The former NBA Rookie of the Year is an unrestricted free agent after earning $22.5 million last season.

Kuminga-Giddey Swap?

In the same livestream, Fischer also reported about the Warriors’ interest in a potential Kuminga-Josh Giddey swap.

“Golden State would be interested, depending on how the machinations could go in some type of Josh Giddey-Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade,” Fischer reported.

Fischer added that the Warriors’ interest in Giddey dated back to the 2021 NBA draft.

“To my understanding, the Warriors were prepared on draft night way back in 2021 for Jonathan Kuminga to go no. 6 to Oklahoma City and they were ready to take Josh Giddey at no. 7,” Fischer said.

But the Thunder picked Giddey and the Warriors ended up with Kuminga, who never found his footing in Steve Kerr’s system.

The pass-first Giddey would have a better chance of thriving under Kerr.

The Australian point guard is coming off his best season in the NBA as the Bulls’ primary playmaker. He averaged a career-high 7.2 assists to go with 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals. He also shot a career-best 37.8% from the 3-point line.

Kuminga-Warriors Standoff Isn’t About Money

Like Kuminga and the Warriors, Giddey is also having a staring down contest with the Bulls.

Giddey has been looking for $30 million in annual salary, according to Fischer, but the Bulls have only discussed an offer with $20 million per year.

But Kuminga’s standoff with the Warriors isn’t about money. It’s about his desire to play major minutes, which the Warriors cannot provide.

Kerr went on record that Kuminga will not play starter minutes next season if he remains with the team following their playoff exit.

“I’ve been asked to win,” Kerr told The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” on May 21. “And right now, he’s not a guy who I can say, I’m going to play 38 minutes with the roster we have, Steph [Curry], Jimmy [Butler] and Draymond [Green], and put the puzzle together that way and expect to win.”

Kuminga ended last season with a scoring flurry. He averaged 24.3 points on 55.4% shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line during the final four games of their second-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But the Warriors did not win a single game with Kuminga leading the way in scoring without an injured Curry.

Those flashy numbers don’t mean a thing to Kerr if they are not winning.

Alder Almo 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