Warriors Go ALL-IN: The $118M Derrick White Gamble That Could Give Curry His 5th Ring - Or DESTROY Everything!
Bringing in White to pair with Stephen Curry could be just what the Warriors need for a fifth title
The Golden State Warriors believe they could've legitimately competed for this year's title had Stephen Curry not missed all but 13 minutes of a second-round loss to Minnesota. They might not be wrong. Though Jimmy Butler proved incapable of carrying the offense in Curry's absence, as a duo they were a force. The Thunder won it all and they deserve to be the favorite to repeat, but the playoffs showed they perhaps are more vulnerable than once suspected.
If the Warriors intend to close that gap, they need more. They might already have the guy that can give it to them in Jonathan Kuminga. But does Kuminga, a restricted free agent who will have options, want to play the role that the Warriors want, and need, him to play? It doesn't sound like it.
From The Athletic:
Kuminga has long held a dream of evolving into a star wing capable of driving an offense and leading a team. With his future in the balance this next month, he's training and preparing accordingly.
"That's what's been on my mind," Kuminga told The Athletic. "Things take time, but I feel like I'm at the point where that has to be my priority, to just be one of the guys a team relies on. Aiming to be an All-Star. Multiple times. Aiming to be great. … Wherever I'm going to be at, it don't matter if it's the Warriors or if it's anywhere else, it's something I want. I want to see what I could do. I know I got it. So I want to really see. I've never got that chance."
One thing is for certain: Kuminga is not going to get this chance with the Warriors, or perhaps specifically with Steve Kerr, who yanked him from the playoff rotation until Curry's injury forced him back in. Kuminga took full advantage of the showcase, averaging nearly 25 points on 55% shooting in four games against the Wolves. It was another glimpse into the potential depths of Kuminga's tantalizing talent, which has shown up off and on over the past few years.
Some would argue Kerr hasn't allowed Kuminga to blossom beyond these random stretches, never consistently committing to his development and keeping him on a short leash, if any leash at all. Others would argue Kerr didn't have a choice. The Warriors have Curry and, as such, no coach in his right mind was going to feature Kuminga.
Once they got Butler as the second scorer, Kuminga seemingly became too big a hinderance in a lineup already cramped for spacing if he wasn't going to provide the supplementary stuff like rebounding, defending and cutting at a supercharged level.
Moving forward, it doesn't sound like Kuminga wants to to the support-staff thing on any level; even though Kerr has already gone on record saying he will deploy the Curry-Butler-Draymond-Kuminga quartet more consistently next season if Kuminga is back, he's still going to be third fiddle at best. So what do the Warriors do?
The obvious answer is a sign and trade, but that's a somewhat limiting option because of the CBA's base year compensation rule. Unless you find pleasure in the nuances of legal language, all you need to know is this: The Warriors can only use 50% of the first-year salary on Kuminga's new deal for salary-matching purposes. The Athletic estimated Kuminga's first-year salary at around $30 million, which seems ballpark enough. That means the Warriors could bring back a player making $15 million plus a 125% increase, or a little over $18 million.
That's not nothing but it's not a great player, and with a guy like Boston's Derrick White reportedly available for the right price, the Warriors might want to add even more to Kuminga and go bigger-game hunting. White would be worth a hard cap and make them a top-line contender, no question about it. The Warriors can trade as many as four future first-round picks to get it done.
There have long been thoughts that the Warriors should've traded Kuminga a while ago, before this possibility of losing him for nothing (although this isn't likely, as the Brooklyn Nets are the only team with enough cap space to make it happen) became an obstacle. Maybe that's true, and maybe it isn't. Again, Kuminga has shown flashes of brilliance. You can understand the organizational hesitance to give up a player who may not be positioned for his preferred premium role now but could be in a post-Curry future.
Either way, that's in the past and, moving forward, Kuminga can still be retained, at least until December when he becomes fully trade eligible. At that point, the Warriors can at least get the full value of his salary back in a deal or use him as the lure to land a pretty big fish.
Jaren Jackson Jr., who hasn't signed an extension with the Grizzlies, would be a dream. It's not out of the question if the Warriors want to try to buy the pot with Kuminga and a bunch of draft picks for a Grizzlies team that just traded Desmond Bane and might be at least open to a full rebuild if they can't clear enough cap space to pay Jackson the money he clearly deserves. Right now, though, the Grizzlies are restricted from giving him that money on account of the 140% raise rule for a non All-NBA player, leaving them in a sticky situation.
That said, the Grizzlies can probably shed enough salary to renegotiate Jackson's 2025-26 salary and then base his raise off that new, higher number, which would get him to his max level. That seems like the path they are most apt to take. Miami has "legitimate Kuminga interest" and that others are "expected to explore the idea as the market materializes," according to The Athletic.
Miami would be interesting. Bringing back Andrew Wiggins, who was vital to the 2022 championship and thrived in the very role Kuminga doesn't want to play, would put Golden State closer to the top tier of contention. White, however, is the guy who would put them over the top.
Of course, White would put a lot of teams over the top. And now that reporting indicates the Celtics are open to bids for both he and Jaylen Brown, calls are going to be flying in from all over the league. Everyone wants a guy like White. He's not only an incredible two-way player but perfectly suited for superstar support.
Golden State would have a lot of competition to get him and would have to throw out a pretty big offer to get the Celtics to even listen. Desmond Bane is a comparable player, maybe even a little less valuable, and the Magic just forked over two rotation players and four first-round draft picks for him. The Knicks paid five future picks for Mikal Bridges. A missing-piece role player can, and in many cases has, cost more than actual stars in this day and age.
How big would the Warriors be willing to go for White? Those who want them to maximize whatever Curry has left of his fading prime, as they indicated a commitment to doing in trading for Butler, will say pretty damn big. But as always, there's a post-Curry future to consider.
These aren't easy calls, and maybe White wouldn't be attainable in the end anyway. But the outlines of a deal could make a lot of sense for both sides. The Celtics, who are basically out of the mix next season as Jayson Tatum recovers from Achilles surgery and have already traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, kickstart a less expensive reload around Tatum with, say, Kuminga, Moses Moody and a two- or three-pick package. The Warriors, meanwhile lock in their shot to close out the Curry era with a fifth title.
Will Mike Dunleavy Jr. pick up the phone and call on White? Has he already? The clock is ticking as Boston is surely receiving, if not being bombarded by, calls on White and Kuminga is about to start fielding his own free-agent offers. A deal is there to be made. Will the Warriors go all-in to at least try to make it?