Report: Clippers Wanted Jonathan Kuminga From Warriors In Paul George Trade

According to NBA insider Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Los Angeles Clippers wanted Jonathan Kuminga from the Golden State Warriors in a Paul George trade. 

The Warriors didn’t offer Kuminga to the Clippers for George, who declined his 2024-25 player option with LAC and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

“When the Clippers wanted Kuminga included in any deal for George, the Warriors quickly backtracked and were unwilling to negotiate, league sources told ClutchPoints,” Siegel wrote. “This led to George then opting out of his contract and signing with the 76ers in free agency.”

Kuminga put up 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks per game for the Warriors in 2023-24 while shooting 52.9% from the field, 32.1% from 3 and 74.6% from the foul line. 

The Warriors drafted Kuminga with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Kuminga, who won the 2022 title with Golden State over the Boston Celtics, holds career averages of 11.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks. 

George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks for the Clippers in 2023-24 while shooting 47.1% from the field, 41.3% from 3 and 90.7% from the free-throw line.

One of the top players in the NBA, George has career averages of 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.4 blocks with the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Clippers. He has made nine All-Star teams, six All-NBA teams and four All-Defensive teams.

On his podcast, George spoke about almost getting traded to the Warriors. 

“That was a real thing that was close to being done,” George said. “That deal was close to being done from what I was being told on the situation. They was expressing just how much they wanted me there, how I could have fit in perfectly with Draymond [Green], Steph [Curry]. Klay [Thompson] probably would’ve stayed. [Brandin] Podziemski, [Jonathan] Kuminga, [Andrew] Wiggins. They didn’t know how or what package was going to be there to trade for me…[Kevon] Looney was going to be there. And so it was very intriguing and it was still an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win.

“I think Steph is a unicorn, one of one player, and Joel’s a unicorn…So it was kind of like a good situation to be in the middle of, but ultimately the deal didn’t go through. I think Clippers didn’t want a certain trade deal that Warriors were willing to give and yeah, it just didn’t happen but it was close. It’d been dope, man. I was looking forward to it, if it happened.”