It’s unclear what the Phoenix Suns are going to decide to do ahead of February’s NBA trade deadline.
They have a variety of options they can pursue, which even includes standing pat with the roster they have. They’ve played well above expectations under first-year head coach Jordan Ott despite dealing with a variety of injury woes.
Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga is a guy who’s had his name floated in trade rumors for a while now. Back in July, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported the Suns’ interest in Kuminga via a possible sign-and-trade route. They noted that Phoenix made “the most lucrative push” for such a deal with Kuminga, but reports now indicate that interest is waning.
The contract situation appears to be the big reason why.
Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported that “there is a lot less interest now” from the Suns in looking to acquire Kuminga. Gambadoro notes the Suns’ interest over the summer was rooted in the sign-and-trade option where they could acquire Kuminga on a relatively reasonable four-year deal in the $90 million range.
Now that he signed with the Warriors, Kuminga has a club option for the 2026-27 season after which he can become an unrestricted free agent — when he could potentially sign a highly lucrative free-agent contract.
On that basis, it doesn’t make much sense for the Suns to give up assets for what could ultimately be a short-term rental. That’s especially true if they think they could be players to sign Kuminga down the line when he hits free agency in his mid-20s.
The Suns would probably sooner take on a bigger contract that’s set to come off the books to afford them more salary cap flexibility in the future.
The priority for Phoenix right now has to be improving the roster around star guard Devin Booker, and the lack of contract years for Kuminga doesn’t give them a ton of leeway in that regard. Booker signed a massive two-year contract extension that will pay him $145 million and keep him around through 2029-30 if he picks up a player option.
Sports Illustrated echoed Gambadoro’s reporting by saying the Suns merely have “decent” interest in Kuminga. They note the 23-year-old may not be polished enough now as a player to significantly improve Phoenix’s roster to help Booker contend in the Western Conference.
Even Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, “None of us know what’s going to happen with JK,” according to NBC Sports reporting.
Kerr said he wants Kuminga “to become the best player he can possibly be, regardless of where he ends up, whether it's here or elsewhere.”
Provided Kuminga isn’t getting consistent playing time under Kerr, the “elsewhere” part probably seems the most likely.
But that “elsewhere” becoming The Valley with the Suns, at least for now, seems more farfetched than it did even a few months ago.
With Booker and Jalen Green set to return from their injuries in the coming days or weeks, the Suns’ priority should be evaluating what the roster looks like when healthy and going from there.
But as the latest reports would indicate, a deal for Kuminga seems to be on the backburner.