{"id":152214,"date":"2025-07-26T06:34:56","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T10:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=152214"},"modified":"2025-07-26T06:36:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T10:36:37","slug":"one-player-holds-the-key-to-a-heat-warriors-kings-mega-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/26\/one-player-holds-the-key-to-a-heat-warriors-kings-mega-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"One Player Holds the Key to a Heat, Warriors, Kings Mega Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every day, there is a new report about a team being interested in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuminjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Kuminga<\/a>. But it seems that the former lottery pick can have a greater implication on the league. Right now, there are reports that the Kuminga trade might be a mega deal between the Sacramento Kings, the Miami Heat, and the Golden State Warriors. And it all hinges on one player. Let\u2019s explore it.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_150536\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150536\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-150536\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26128509_168415519_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26128509_168415519_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26128509_168415519_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26128509_168415519_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26128509_168415519_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26128509_168415519_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26128509_168415519_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_26128509_168415519_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-150536\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">May 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) dribbles the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>One Player Holds the Key to a Heat, Warriors, Kings Mega Trade<\/h2>\n<p>According to the latest report by Sactown Sports, the Kings are extremely interested in acquiring Kuminga. They also have a handshake agreement with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/derozde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DeMar DeRozan<\/a> that if they get Kuminga, they will trade him to a contending team. Anytime you are trying to make a mega deal like this one, there are challenges. There is a framework for a deal between the Kings, the Heat, and the Warriors that can benefit all three teams. But there is one player holding everything back. Or better said, one player that the Kings are hesitant to include in a trade. Let\u2019s take a step-by-step look.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jonathan Kuminga IN = DeMar DeRozan OUT??<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/The_StilesFiles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@The_StilesFiles<\/a>: &quot;I believe that there is a handshake agreement between DeMar DeRozan and the Sacramento Kings&#8230;&quot; <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MfPgoOMF84\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/MfPgoOMF84<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sactown Sports 1140 (@Sactown1140) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sactown1140\/status\/1948830936571019337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>The Warriors Want Value in a Kuminga Deal<\/h3>\n<p>The Kings and the Warriors have been talking about a possible Kuminga trade for a while now. But according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/golden-state-warriors\/kuminga-for-2-kings-players\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">latest reports<\/a>, the Warriors want either <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/elliske01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Keon Ellis<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrake02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Keegan Murray<\/a> in a trade. Ellis, in particular, is a very interesting option. He is a type of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/18\/cheap-role-players-trade-title-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">role player<\/a> who can help a contender by improving around the edges. Ellis averaged 8.3 points on 48.9% shooting from the floor and 43.3% from three-point range in his third season. Right now, the Kings are reluctant to trade him because he is a valuable asset on a cheap deal.<\/p>\n<p>Ellis is the one player who can move the wheels of the Kuminga trade. If the Kings eventually decide to move him to the Warriors, Kuminga will be in Sacramento, and DeRozan on a contending team, likely the Miami Heat.<\/p>\n<h3>The Heat Can Benefit from a Kuminga Deal<\/h3>\n<p>The Heat are patiently waiting for a deal between the Kings and the Warriors. There were earlier reports that they view DeRozan as a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/18\/miami-heat-demar-derozan-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">good alternative<\/a> if they fail to get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a>. If there is a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/25\/worst-case-scenario-how-kuminga-can-paralyze-warriors-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Kuminga deal<\/a>, they can swoop in and get DeMar. According to a reporter from Sactown Sports, that deal is probable. He said,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe that there is a handshake agreement between DeRozan and the Kings. That is my belief. If Jonathan Kuminga is acquired by the Kings, they will get their butts in gear as far as getting DeMar DeRozan to another team. I know that we\u2019ve brought up the situation with the Miami Heat. Do you take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/roziete01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Terry Rozier<\/a> and two seconds, and it is essentially a salary dump. Obviously, they are not getting a player back that is as good as DeRozan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rozier has $26.6 million more on his deal for the 2025-26 season. But he has one less year left, as he will be a free agent in the summer of 2026. DeRozan, on the other hand, has two years left on his contract. There are partial guarantees on his deal.<\/p>\n<p>Everything is in place for a mega trade between the Heat, Warriors, and the Kings . The problem is, the Kings are still reluctant to give up Ellis. If they decide to let him move on, this deal can benefit all three sides. The Warriors get a quality rotation role player, the Kings get a potential young star that can grow with the team, and the Heat get another quality veteran to try and make a push.<\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: \u00a9 Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every day, there is a new report about a team being interested in Jonathan Kuminga. But it seems that the former lottery pick can have a greater implication on the league. Right now, there are reports that the Kuminga trade might be a mega deal between the Sacramento Kings, the Miami Heat, and the Golden [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5291,"featured_media":152219,"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":[1608,25,16,62,3,29,4721],"tags":[350,4297,4624],"class_list":["post-152214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-warriors","category-heat","category-nba","category-news","category-kings","category-trade-rumors","tag-demar-derozan","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-keon-ellis"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152214","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\/5291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152214"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152221,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152214\/revisions\/152221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}