Kristaps Porziņģis-Jonathan Kuminga trade grades: Warriors, Hawks take upside swings

It’s been five long years in Golden State, and the Jonathan Kuminga saga is officially over. The Golden State Warriors are would have exchanged Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porziņģis.

This deal appears to end Golden State’s pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Charania. Reports had indicated that the Warriors were hoping not to include Jimmy Butler’s max contract in a deal, which would have meant using contracts like those of Kuminga, Hield and Draymond Green to get a deal done. With that deal now done and the Bucks having turned down Golden State’s pick-based offer, the Warriors have moved on to another target.

The Hawks, meanwhile, continue their reorganization by trading their second former All-Star of the season. With Trae Young also gone, the Hawks no longer have a single fully guaranteed contract on their books for next season belonging to a player over the age of 27. The youth movement is fully activated, so let’s evaluate this deal for both sides.

Golden State Warriors: B

After five years of inconsistent playing time in a system he didn’t fit into, Kuminga no longer had significant commercial value. There were reports over the summer that Sacramento was willing to give up a lottery-protected first-round pick for him, but any hope of a deal seemingly disappeared when the Kings landed De’Andre Hunter. He was essentially just salary-matched, and with the chances of an Antetokounmpo deal looking low, the Warriors moved on.

Now, if it were a healthy Porziņģis, Golden State would get an A+. The Warriors have spent years looking for this type of player. Part of the motivation for signing Al Horford this offseason was the need to pair Draymond Green with a center who can shoot. Golden State has never really had a gigantic stationary rim protector before, and his size near the rim gives them dimension that they also largely lacked.

Of course, this is not a healthy Porziņģis. Even if it were the norm, “misses games due to injury, but is great when he plays” Porziņģis, the Warriors would come away a clear winner. Instead, he suffers from POTS, an autoimmune disease with a number of troubling symptoms, including rapid heart rate, dizziness and lethargy. Porziņģis was spectacular in his first 11 games in October and November, averaging over 18 points and posting spectacular on-off splits. Since then, he has played six times, mostly ineffectively. There’s no telling when or if he’ll ever be able to play at 100% again, and that’s not even taking into account the other injuries he’s dealt with for most of his career.

Porziņģis Golden State’s version is, at least for the moment, compromised. Still, it’s still a gamble worth taking for several reasons. The risk, for example, was minimal. Porziņģis is on an expiring contract. The Warriors didn’t give up any draft picks to get him. If they keep him in the building for three months and decide they don’t trust his health, they can wash their hands of him relatively easily. They even took away Hield’s $3 million guaranteed for next season, so that would be a minor win.

But more likely, they are looking to re-sign Porziņģis in a team-friendly deal. If he can be had for $10-15 million instead of the $30 million he’s currently making, the risk-reward calculus will change significantly. The stakes aren’t particularly high here. Golden State isn’t betting a championship core on its health. They know they need to hit a home run if they want to win anything in the near future, so it made sense to go for a high reward. Generally speaking, low risk, high reward stocks make sense.

And then there’s the optics here. It’s no secret: the Warriors are nearing the end of a legendary run. Stephen Curry is about to turn 38. The only reason they seemingly had a chance of landing Antetokounmpo was because their post-Curry future is so bleak that their draft picks had theoretical value. Given how little else they have in the closet, one could argue that an all-out push for Giannis represented far more risk than reward. Still, the Warriors had to try. They owe it to Curry. A player of his stature deserves to finish his career at least making the playoffs, if not for a championship.

The Porziņģis trade isn’t as exciting as an Antetokounmpo deal, but it shows Curry and his fans that they’re trying. He’s a respectable name, someone who has the chance to be very useful to them, but like Jimmy Butler, it doesn’t come at an exorbitant cost. Truth be told, those are the kind of players they should be targeting right now. The goal should be to retain as much capital as possible to ensure they are able to rebuild once Curry is gone, while at least trying to give Curry a competitive roster now. This deal straddles that line. It creates hope without a major cost looming, and it relieves the locker room of any lingering Kuminga-related tensions. So it makes sense even if it’s not Porziņģis’ best version.

Atlanta Hawks: B

The Hawks and Warriors operate different schedules. They sincerely hoped that Porziņģis could form a central tandem with Onyeka Okongwu that they could build around moving forward. This did not happen. They simply couldn’t justify paying Porziņģis in the long term. They need certainty at center, and he hasn’t been able to provide it. So it made sense to move on.

Could they have gotten, say, a meager return of capital? Sure, but that probably would have been linked to unsavory pay. Atlanta has some very valuable first round picks coming from the Pelicans or Bucks this summer and next summer. For them, maintaining financial flexibility is much more important than accumulating trading capital. They need their money to find a reliable center and shot-creating guard to replace Trae Young.

So, like Golden State, the Hawks opted for a low-risk, high-reward flight. Hield is only guaranteed $3 million next season, but with two years remaining on his contract, that could even extend to five years if he opts out. It’s a fairly easy contract to liquidate. And Kuminga has a $24.3 million team option for next season. If they need to use him as a matching salary in a summer trade, they can. If they just want to terminate the contract for any reason, they can do that too.

If we assume that Atlanta had no plans to re-sign Porziņģis, turning him into another expirable contract makes perfect sense. Why not give Kuminga a two-month audition and see if he looks better away from the Warriors? Atlanta runs a somewhat similar system to Golden State. The Warriors lead the league in assists every year and in 3s this season. The Hawks are 10th in assists and 11th in 3-point attempt rate. Quin Snyder wants the ball to travel the court and the 3-pointers to fly. But no one Really plays like Golden State does.

The Hawks are closer to a normal NBA ecosystem, and it’s worth seeing how Kuminga might fit into such an ecosystem. After all, he still has exceptional athleticism. We’re talking about someone who just played Minnesota in a playoff series and averaged 24 points on 55-49-72 shooting in the four games in which he played significant minutes last year. There is clearly something here. The Hawks love their big ball handlers. They already run a lot of offense thanks to Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels, although all three have pretty distinct offensive strengths and weaknesses.

Snyder is a creative offensive coach. You can never have enough wings. And the Hawks haven’t made any real commitment here. Considering they’re only giving up a player they apparently didn’t plan on keeping, this is a solid lottery ticket. They were just a Play-In tournament team anyway, so there’s no harm in dedicating a few months to see if you can unlock a former draft pick so that next year you can be something more.