The Phoenix Suns swung hard but missed again.
The lack of draft capital has kept the Suns from landing Golden State Warriors disgruntled young star Jonathan Kuminga despite offering the most guaranteed money.
According to Andscape’s senior NBA writer Marc J. Spears, the Warriors balked at the Suns’ trade package.
“And then the Suns, I heard, they’re like, offering Royce [O’Neale] and four seconds and Nick Richards,” Spears said on “NBA Today” on July 30. “That’s just not pretty enough.”
The Suns only have three second-round picks available to trade, while they do not have control of their first-round picks until 2031.
Warriors Want Unprotected First-Round Pick
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Warriors are looking for an unprotected first-round pick, a rotation player and a young player.
O’Neale can be considered a quality rotation player, but he has three guaranteed years left on his four-year, $42 million contract, which makes it undesirable. Richards is a serviceable backup center on an expiring salary.
Unless the Suns can rope in a third team that will furnish a first-round pick to the Warriors, they do not stand a chance despite their lucrative offer to Kuminga.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater, the Suns pushed all their chips to the table to lure Kuminga.
“The most significant negotiations have been with the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, getting proposals up to four years approaching $90 million total, including a player option for the final season, sources said. Phoenix has made the most lucrative push via sign-and-trade,” Charania and Slater reported.
The Suns’ proposal was nearly $70 million more guaranteed than the Warriors’ offer, Charania and Slater added.
Spears reported that Kuminga wants to go. But not to Phoenix.
Jonathan Kuminga Picks Kings Over Suns
Getty Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors defends against Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns.
Despite the Suns offering the most money, Kuminga prefers to go to Sacramento.
After a Zoom call meeting with the Kings’ general manager Scott Perry, assistant general manager BJ Armstrong and coach Doug Christie, Kuminga was convinced to join them, according to Spears.
“He wants to go [to Sacramento],” Spears reported. “The Kings are offering a starting spot, as the power forward, next to Keegan Murray and [Domantas] Sabonis.”
As Charania previously reported, “those are two things (significant playing time and a starting role) that he wants more than anything.”
The 22-year-old forward firmly believes he’s ready to spread his wings. In the final four games of last season — all losses that ended Golden State’s playoff run — Kuminga averaged 24.3 points on 55.4% shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line.
It’s another miss for the Suns after their other target, former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, spurned them to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
Interest in Ben Simmons
Aside from Kuminga, the Suns have another target.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Suns have joined the growing list of suitors for former No. 1 pick Ben Simmons.
“League sources say that the Suns have also had some recent dialogue with former All-Star Ben Simmons, who I’m told has drawn interest since free agency began from Boston, New York and Sacramento,” Stein wrote on his Substack newsletter “The Stein Line” on July 20.
Simmons is expected to make a decision soon, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst previously reported.
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