{"id":148590,"date":"2025-07-02T22:36:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T02:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=148590"},"modified":"2025-07-02T22:36:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T02:36:15","slug":"crossroad-kings-very-engaged-jonathan-kuminga-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/02\/crossroad-kings-very-engaged-jonathan-kuminga-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Crossroad Kings \u2018Very Engaged\u2019 On Trade For NBA Champion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Sacramento Kings are at a crossroads.<\/p>\n<p>While having signed Detroit Pistons unrestricted free agent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/schrode01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dennis Schroder<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/01\/nuggets-jonas-valanciunas-backup-nikola-jokic\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a three-year contract<\/a> in order to shore up their sheer point guard depth, they also want to bring Denver Nuggets unrestricted free agent <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a> on board. However, Westbrook is <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheDunkCentral\/status\/1940412867146375171\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">unlikely to join<\/a> the Kings because they still have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/monkma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Malik Monk<\/a> on the roster, per NBA insider Chris Haynes (h\/t NBACentral on X). With that in mind, Monk was <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JakeLFischer\/status\/1939879449505169601\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a candidate to head to<\/a> the Pistons in a sign-and-trade for Schroder, per The Stein Line insider Jake Fischer.<\/p>\n<h2>Crossroad Kings \u2018Very Engaged\u2019 On Trade For Jonathan Kuminga<\/h2>\n<p>Sacramento has \u201cremained open still to a sign-and-trade of Malik Monk to Detroit,\u201d according to ABC10\u2019s Matt George.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Sounds like the Monk aspect of the Kuminga deal has more to do with the Warriors being less interested in him.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, the Kings would need to open up the space to absorb Kuminga. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BfEB6lXayo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/BfEB6lXayo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MattGeorgeSAC\/status\/1940584244642042177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeanwhile, the Kings are very engaged on the Jonathan Kuminga front in a deal which, I&#8217;m told, likely wouldn&#8217;t involve Monk,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>George\u2019s report comes <a href=\"https:\/\/marcstein.substack.com\/p\/the-hottest-and-freshest-nba-free?utm_campaign=email-post&amp;r=3shtjf&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyMjkyNTkyMTEsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE2NzMyNTgwMCwiaWF0IjoxNzUxNDM1ODAzLCJleHAiOjE3NTQwMjc4MDMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zOTIyMDUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.-qa9NyKudTGL8iMzgEETSXWqcgHKLSn_9kFdvBtUAM8&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on the heels of a rumor<\/a> from Fischer about Sacramento\u2019s willingness to include Monk in a trade package for Golden State Warriors restricted free agent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuminjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Kuminga<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Breaking Down The Situation<\/h3>\n<p>Ultimately, there are likely three facts that are true.<\/p>\n<p>First, Schroder is signing to the Kings. Second, Westbrook would like to sign with the Kings. Third, the Kings would like to sign Kuminga.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_148595\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-148595\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-148595\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/IMG_7265-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/IMG_7265-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/IMG_7265-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/IMG_7265-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/IMG_7265-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/IMG_7265-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/IMG_7265-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/IMG_7265.jpeg 1647w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-148595\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 13, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) dunks ahead of Sacramento Kings forward Isaac Jones (3) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The only question is whether Monk will be traded in a deal for Schroder, Kuminga or another player. That answer likely depends on the Pistons and Warriors interest in him. At this juncture, it doesn\u2019t seem as if either team is pressing towards his acquisition.<\/p>\n<h3>What Should The Kings Do?<\/h3>\n<p>If Sacramento doesn\u2019t move Monk at all, they likely can forget about Westbrook. With that being said, Monk is the more effective player at this point of their careers. Frankly, they might be better off with the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year finalist. However, Westbrook is an experienced primary facilitator and the Kings desperately needed one last season.<\/p>\n<p>Missing out on Kuminga is a different story though.<\/p>\n<p>While the former seventh overall pick hasn\u2019t been a schematic fit for the Warriors, he\u2019s young (22) with plenty of two-way potential. As a starter, he\u2019s averaged 15.5 points in 28.1 minutes per game. When he plays 30+ minutes, he averages 20.8 points per game. Because All-Star center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sabondo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Domantas Sabonis<\/a> is such an effective 3-point shooter and dribble hand-off operator, his weaknesses will be minimized and his strengths maximized.<\/p>\n<p>The complication comes in the fact that Golden State would likely want 2022 No. 4 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrake02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Keegan Murray<\/a> in return. Though he hasn\u2019t been remarkably consistent in his young career, he\u2019s a promising 3-and-D forward. Thus, he\u2019s a fit for a Steve Kerr-run offense but Sacramento would be loathe to trade him.<\/p>\n<p>If the Kings can get creative, perhaps involving additional teams, it could work though. The Portland Trail Blazers, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/24\/blazers-post-trade-plan-jrue-holiday\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">who traded for<\/a> two-time NBA champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday<\/a> last month, could be one such option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Sacramento Kings are at a crossroads. While having signed Detroit Pistons unrestricted free agent Dennis Schroder to a three-year contract in order to shore up their sheer point guard depth, they also want to bring Denver Nuggets unrestricted free agent Russell Westbrook on board. However, Westbrook is unlikely to join the Kings because they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":148596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,1608,20,10,25,62,3,23,4721],"tags":[252,4297,239,4606,700,297,4774,53],"class_list":["post-148590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kings","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-pistons","category-warriors","category-nba","category-news","category-trailblazers","category-trade-rumors","tag-dennis-schroder","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-jrue-holiday","tag-keegan-murray","tag-malik-monk","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-rumors","tag-russell-westbrook"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148590"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148597,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148590\/revisions\/148597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}