The Portland Trail Blazers should've taken a chance on Jonathan Kuminga at the trade deadline. He's already making teams regret their lack of pursuit, showcasing his tantalizing upside in his debut with the Atlanta Hawks.
Kuminga came off the bench, yet finished with a game-high 27 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in just 24 minutes.
Consistency remains a question mark for Kuminga, and we'll need a larger sample size to gauge how big a win this truly was for the Hawks. But the fact that he's capable of doing this at all should be enough to have the Blazers second-guessing their decision.
Blazers should've pursued Jonathan Kuminga at the trade deadline
Portland nailed their Vit Krejci trade with Atlanta, but that was more of a move on the margins. They still need to add star power to this roster, and Kuminga needed just one game to display that ceiling.
The Hawks didn't even give up that much to acquire Kuminga, which is the most puzzling aspect of this from Portland's standpoint. It was a rare opportunity to add another recent top ten pick to their young core, yet they decided to play it safe. The Blazers' front office has taken gambles that have paid off throughout their rebuild, everything from the headliner Deni Avdija trade to the signing of Sidy Cissoko. Ideally, Kuminga would've been the next addition to that list.
Kuminga's hovered around 33% from beyond the arc in his career, which admittedly is a questionable fit for this Blazers roster. But this trade deadline proved you can add shooting on the margins for cheap. It's much more difficult to find that star player, so upside should take precedence over fit.
Kuminga wasn't the best available trade target at the deadline, but he very well may have been the best value. The Golden State Warriors, and particularly head coach Steve Kerr, tanked whatever remaining value he had left by refusing to trust him.
A trade package along the lines of Jerami Grant for Kuminga and a salary filler would've made sense for both parties. The Warriors get a proven veteran who fits their Stephen Curry timeline and is much more reliable than Kristaps Porzingis. The Blazers get to audition a high-upside player to see how much he would benefit from a change of scenery. Kuminga has a $24.3 million team option for next season. That contract, combined with the limited assets required to land him, makes him a low-risk player to take on despite the question marks.
Portland had a chance to make a low-risk, high-reward move, but Atlanta ultimately capitalized on it. They're already reaping the rewards after just one game.