One of the most interesting storylines over this offseason and even this past season has been Jonathan Kuminga. The 24-year-old is convinced he deserves big money and wants an expanded role away from Golden State.
Restricted free agency has been stale this offseason as no teams have any money to pay these restricted free agents, taking pressure completely off the teams that have their rights. Kuminga is in a group of RFAs alongside Quentin Grimes, Josh Giddey, and Cam Thomas, who are all struggling to get paid.
While the other free agents don't really have any suitors, two Western Conference bottom feeders find themselves competing for Kuminga's services. This is hilarious, and the Pelicans front office and fan base can sit back and laugh as they are often compared and put in the same tier as the Suns and the Kings.
Putting New Orleans in the same tier as these two disaster organizations is just so funny to me. The Pelicans' issues have never been roster construction or talent; it's been injuries.
Both the Kings and Suns, on the other hand, have been a nightmare at putting a team together over the last 3-4 years. Yes, Kuminga has potential as he averaged nearly 21 points per game in an expanded role during the playoffs versus Minnesota. However, the fact that a successful offseason for the Kings is adding Dennis Schroder on a gross overpay and signing an unproven project wing in Kuminga is just silly.
Joe Dumars decision to steer clear is something the fans will greatly appreciate
At one point last season, Pelicans fans started to welcome the idea of adding Kuminga, as many like his versatility as a switchable defender and thought there was upside as a scorer. Thankfully, Dumars came in and steered clear of that.
New Orleans has a stacked wing duo of Herb Jones and Trey Murphy, two of the league's most valuable wings, so adding Kuminga would have truly no value. He thinks he's a star and believes he deserves touches, which makes him a perfect fit for Phoenix or Sacramento, who won't win more than 30 games next season.
To see two teams compete over a player who, at this point, is mediocre is hilarious. Like, do the Suns and Kings not understand how good someone has to be to be a successful player in this league as a career 33% three-point shooter? I guess not.
Again, I'm not trying to clown on Kuminga. I think there's a role in the league for him. I'm just calling out the fact that everyone wants to dump on the Pelicans all the time, but you have teams like the Suns and Kings who are banking their offseason on an addition like this.