Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin tends to take flyers on high-upside players. Portland could've continued that trend at the trade deadline had they acquired Jonathan Kuminga from the Golden State Warriors. After all, it's rare to get a buy-low opportunity to add a former top ten draft selection to your young core.
However, after seeing how Kuminga's time in Atlanta has gone so far, it's become apparent why he was so easily attainable. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy put it best: "When you make a demand, there needs to be demand on the market."
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was criticized for Kuminga falling out of his rotation, as the talent has always been there. But contributing to winning is another thing entirely. The Hawks are coming to that same realization, as Kuminga's minutes and production have declined since coming over at the deadline, signaling that the honeymoon period is officially over.
Blazers were right to avoid the Jonathan Kuminga headache
Kuminga's first two games in Atlanta were 17- and 20-point performances, suggesting he was benefiting from a change of scenery and that Golden State may have actually been the problem. That theory was quickly dispelled, as Kuminga is averaging 9.3 points and 20.3 minutes per game while shooting 40.3 percent from the field in March.
Kuminga's declining production now leaves the Hawks with a lose-lose scenario heading into the offseason. He has a $24.3 million team option that they would be wise to decline, as he's not justifying that salary. But if that's the case, they either risk overpaying for a new deal for a player that remains much more impactful in theory than in reality, or they let him walk in free agency, losing the assets they sacrificed at the deadline for essentially nothing.
The Blazers remained relatively quiet at the deadline, with their only move being the trade for Vit Krejci with Atlanta. But by not pursuing Kuminga, they wisely didn't force the issue and avoided that offseason dilemma entirely.
Leading up to the deadline, Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor reported that the Blazers were one of the teams linked to Kuminga, along with the Mavericks, Pelicans, and Wizards. KOC threw out Jerami Grant or Jrue Holiday as the hypotheticals, noting that Grant makes the most sense for Golden State's undersized roster and win-now timeline.
Say what you will about Grant's contract, but in terms of impact and roster fit, going from him to Kuminga would've been a massive downgrade for Portland. Grant is one of the only reliable shooting options on this Blazers roster. Meanwhile, Kuminga is a 33.6 percent three-point shooter and would only exacerbate an existing roster weakness.
The idea of taking a low-risk, high-reward flyer on Kuminga might've been appealing to some at the deadline. But this is already looking like a headache that Portland was wise to avoid.