The stove is hot this NBA Trade Deadline, and the unicorn is on the move again. The Atlanta Hawks are sending Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield. There were no draft picks involved in the exchange.
The long-awaited saga that followed a trade request for Jonathan Kuminga finds him joining a promising Atlanta team. That being said, who won this trade?
Why Did Atlanta Make the Move?
The Atlanta Hawks seem to have a clear direction, and adding a forward with massive upside like Jonathan Kuminga can help them take the next step. While this is the case, they had to give up a valuable asset in Porzingis, who is a game-changing talent when healthy.
Kuminga has another year on his deal at $24.3 million. Atlanta also acquired sharpshooting journeyman Buddy Hield in the deal and his extremely reasonable $9.66 million cap hit for next season, to go along with a player option for 2027-28.
They know that this potential is most likely not to be realized this season, and they turned an expiring contract into two players who, at the very least, can be impactful rotational players at a reasonable cost.
The only reason I don’t grade this trade higher is that Atlanta has loaded up its wings with offensive-minded shooters, which is great, but they could use a playmaker to facilitate alongside Jalen Johnson and maximize everyone in-house’s skill set. This is a home run for this team, especially beyond this season, but it does create a logjam.
Grade: B+
Why Did Golden State Make the Move?
The Warriors decided against waiting on the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo to figure out a destination for him and took themselves out of the running, which helped them hang on to many more assets than they would’ve needed to give. Simply put, when a player with such a unique skill set becomes available, many teams will be interested.
With such a reasonable acquisition cost, now the Warriors can let him play this season out and see how he fits on a team that desperately needs some size.
In 17 games this season, Porzingis is averaging 17.1 points per game, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, and I expect him to shoot closer to his career-high 41.2% from the arc in Steve Kerr’s system than he has in limited action this season.
This could be a real home run, but getting a player out of the locker room who doesn’t share the team’s goals is always a win in my book.
Grade: A