The Golden State Warriors may need to pay a steep price if they wish to acquire Jimmy Butler via trade. The Miami Heat star recently requested out of South Beach. However, that doesn’t mean Pat Riley is going to give his star forward away for pennies on the dollar.
According to ClutchPoint’s Brett Sigel, Miami would want Jonathan Kuminga as the centerpiece of a potential trade package to send Butler to the Bay Area.
“The Warriors and Heat have held discussions with one another regarding Butler this season, league sources confirmed,”
“Although mutual interest between Butler and Golden State exists, Miami has made it clear that Jonathan Kuminga is a player they would want to be included in the framework of a potential deal for their superstar forward.”
“While there are conflicting opinions around the league as to what Kuminga’s long-term future looks like, the Warriors have not been eager to include him in trade discussions to this point.”
“According to league sources, the Warriors and Heat have had conversations about Butler this season,” Siegel said on Friday, January 3.
“Although Golden State and Butler have mutual interest, Miami has stated that they would like to have Jonathan Kuminga included in the parameters of a possible deal for their star forward.” Siegel went on.
“The Warriors have not been keen to include Kuminga in trade talks up to this point, despite differing views throughout the league regarding his long-term prospects.”
For Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr., leaving Kuminga would be a big shift in focus. The dynamic forward is considered a true future star.
This season, Kuminga has been receiving a lot of minutes from Steve Kerr. Since Kuminga would be a 35-year-old forward who has already started to show signs of decline, Golden State is unlikely to be prepared to deal with him.
