Streaking Portland Trail Blazers take aim at season sweep of Golden State Warriors
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Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga dunks the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SAN FRANCISCO – Basketball fans in the San Francisco Bay Area might get their last chance to say goodbye to Jonathan Kuminga in the National Basketball Association (NBA), when the Golden State Warriors host the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan 13 night (Jan 14 morning, Singapore time).
The No. 7 overall pick of the 2021 NBA draft, Kuminga has been a healthy scratch in each of the Warriors’ last 12 games as trade rumours surround the team.
Now in his fifth season, Kuminga, 23, reached a two-year contract extension with the Warriors in the off-season.
It will guarantee him US$22.5 million (S$29 million) this season and give Golden State the option to retain him for US$24.3 million in 2027.
At the same time, by rule, the Warriors were prevented from trading him until Jan 15, meaning he could be gone by the time the club take the court to face the New York Knicks on that night.
While some speculated that Kuminga’s recent benching was the result of a trade agreement already in place – and others assumed it was a disciplinary move – Golden State coach Steve Kerr said that a recent ineffective four-game stint, which included a start at Cleveland, prompted the move.
“There’s no denying that he didn’t play as well as he had,” Kerr said on the club’s flagship radio station, 95.7 The Game in San Francisco.
“Our team didn’t play as well and so we decided to make a shift. That’s my job. It’s not that complicated.”
The Warriors have gone 8-4 since Kuminga last played. One of the losses came in their most recent outing, a 124-111 home defeat by the Atlanta Hawks on Jan 11.
Coincidentally, the Trail Blazers are the type of trade partners the Warriors could be engaging in Kuminga talks.
An athletic and young team that have stunned the veteran-laden Warriors three straight times this season, Portland might be interested in acquiring another young athlete at the expense of one of their veteran players – perhaps Jrue Holiday, 35, Jerami Grant, 31, or Robert Williams, 28.
Grant has missed the last 13 games with left Achilles tendinitis, but the forward is expected back soon.
He had 35 points in a 136-131 home win over the Warriors in December.
Holiday (calf strain) returned from a 27-game absence to contribute eight points and four assists in 16 minutes during Portland’s 123-114 home loss to the Knicks on Jan 11. The defeat snapped a five-game winning streak.
He recorded a 12-point, 11-assist double-double in Portland’s 139-119 win over the Warriors on Oct 24.
Deni Avdija (26.1 points per game), Shaedon Sharpe (21.5), Toumani Camara (13.1) and Donovan Clingan (11.1) have led the youth movement as the Trail Blazers won seven of their last nine games.
Holiday sees the direction the franchise are taking as they attempt to finish off their first season-series sweep of Golden State since 2003.
“These guys are playing well and playing big minutes and winning big games,” he said.
“This city is seeing how fun it is to watch us play.” REUTERS
