The Detroit Pistons’ biggest long-term need is at power forward, but it doesn’t appear trading for Jonathan Kuminga is the way they are going to fill it.
Kuminga has been a hot name on the possible sign-and-trade market, and there has been some interest according to insider Jake Fischer (subscription), who also added that the interest has not been coming from Detroit, one of two teams with meaningful cap space, the other being Brooklyn.
Detroit has been attached to other stretch bigs in speculation, but so far nothing around Kuminga, who is thought to be a possible target for Chicago.
Kuminga is a bit of a polarizing player, but he’s only 22-years-old and showed in this year’s playoffs that he belongs on that stage. He averaged 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 points per game in the Warriors’ conference semi-finals loss to the Timberwolves, scoring 18, 30, 23 and 26 points in the final four games.
Given his age and the Pistons’ positional need, the idea of Kuminga is not a wild one until you get to the cost.
Detroit Pistons trade rumor: Jonathan Kuminga not worth the risk
The idea of a young power forward who has shown two-way ability is appealing, but Kuminga would be a big risk when you consider the dual cost of acquiring him.
The first is that the Warriors aren’t just going to let him walk, so it would likely be a sign-and-trade in which the Pistons would have to send back contracts equal to Kuminga’s first year on his new deal.
Detroit could theoretically carve out an offer that might scare Golden State away, but it would take an offer that would represent significant risk to the Pistons.
The Pistons would have to envision Kuminga as their long-term answer at power forward, as it would take a lucrative long-term deal to get him and possibly a player or two to match salaries in a sign-and-trade.
The Pistons will be looking for shooting at the four, and Kuminga has been hit or miss in that department. He only shot 30 percent from 3-point range on the season but did shoot 42.1 percent on 3.8 attempts per game against the ‘Wolves in the playoffs, so the skill is potentially there.
Kuminga as a player would be a risk worth taking in a vacuum, but if the Pistons had to give up multiple guys to match salaries on top of a big contract, the financial and team-building risks become too much to stomach.