Jonathan Kuminga is about to test the open market, and the Sacramento Kings are expected to be among the teams with real interest. That’s according to NBA writer Marc J. Spears, who reported that Sacramento had eyes on Kuminga even before he was traded from the Golden State Warriors to the Atlanta Hawks at the midseason deadline.
The Hawks declined Kuminga’s team option, making him an unrestricted free agent when the window opens Tuesday at 6 p.m. EST. The 23-year-old forward played just 16 games in Atlanta after the trade, averaging 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He shot 47.6 percent from the floor and 34.6 percent from three — numbers that basically matched what he’d shown in Golden State.
Why Sacramento makes sense
The Kings are rebuilding. That’s not a secret. And for a player like Kuminga, who’s spent most of his career on a Warriors roster chasing titles, a rebuilding team might actually be the better fit. In Golden State, there wasn’t much room to let him develop through mistakes. The Hawks are in a different spot — trying to stay competitive, but not really in a position to hand a young player heavy minutes without immediate results.
Sacramento? They can offer playing time. They can offer patience. And they’ve apparently been circling Kuminga for a while. According to Spears, the interest predates the trade that sent him to Atlanta. That kind of sustained attention matters.
The Kings have cap flexibility and a roster that still feels unfinished. Adding a 6-foot-8 forward who can score at the rim and defend multiple positions fits the general direction they’re heading — young, athletic, long. Whether Kuminga is ready to become more than what he’s shown so far is the question, but the Kings have time to find out.
No deal is done yet, obviously. Free agency doesn’t officially start until Tuesday evening. But the buzz around Kuminga and Sacramento isn’t new, and it’s not going away. This could be one of those early-week signings that flies under the radar nationally but feels significant for a team trying to build something from the ground up.
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