Dub Hub: Suns have reportedly express interest in a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Thursday, July 17th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• The Suns have become the newest team to express interest in a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.
• In an interview on 95.7 The Game, Warriors’ second round pick Will Richard described what it was like to meet Steph Curry for the first time.
• Bradley Beal agrees to a buyout with the Suns and is set to sign with the Clippers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The Phoenix Suns have reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Via The Stein Line:

Sources say Phoenix, meanwhile, is the latest team to express exploratory interest in a Kuminga sign-and-trade … challenging as it would be for the Suns to make such a deal happen.

Phoenix recently completed a buyout of Bradley Beal’s contract, creating financial flexibility by waiving and stretching the remainder of his deal. However, despite their interest, a potential trade for Kuminga is considered highly unlikely due to the Suns’ limited assets.

Fischer notes that Phoenix lacks both the draft picks and player personnel Golden State is believed to be seeking in return for the 22-year-old forward. Any potential deal would also be complicated by the NBA’s base year compensation rules, which would count only 50 percent of Kuminga’s outgoing salary in a sign-and-trade.

Still, this isn’t the first time Kuminga’s name has surfaced in talks between the two teams. According to Fischer, he was mentioned during discussions at last season’s trade deadline as the Warriors explored a reunion with Kevin Durant.

The Suns, to be clear, do not appear to possess the sort of draft capital or players that Golden State is believed to be seeking in exchange for Kuminga. Yet he certainly did come up in trade talks between the teams during the season, sources say, when the Warriors were pursuing the re-acquisition of Kevin Durant.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Thursday, July 17th:

Warriors News:

The latest on the NBA’s complicated restricted free agency market | The Stein Line

Kuminga’s holding pattern has generated the most media attention to date. His agent Aaron Turner has held numerous discussions with Warriors officials in Las Vegas, league sources tell The Stein Line, with the hope of securing a contract — even a short-term contract — that pays at least $25 million in average annual salary … whether that’s to stay with the Warriors or switch teams via sign-and-trade.

Sources say that the Warriors have expressed reluctance to go that high in price over a long-term agreement while also seeking some level of first-round draft compensation in any theoretical trade that ships Kuminga elsewhere.

Warriors were only willing to offer the veteran minimum for Bradley Beal

Kevon Looney reveals truth behind decision to leave Warriors in NBA free agency | NBC Sports Bay Area

“I guess,” Looney said when Thompson II asked him if Post was the final straw for him. “I wouldn’t say it like that, but it was anybody but me it seemed like at this point. It wasn’t no one moment. Even this year, probably the playoffs. We going up against Steven Adams. This is what I do. They’re not really giving me the chance to really let me do what I do.

“It’s like, ‘All right, y’all don’t trust me? I thought y’all trusted me.’ They put me at the end in Game 7, it’s like why’d we have to wait for that point?”

Warriors get past Grizzlies, buoyed by undrafted wing Chris Manon’s steady two-way play | San Francisco Chronicle

Said Warriors summer league head coach Lainn Wilson: “Our pace stayed well, our intensity stayed and kind of increased as the game wore on, and I thought that made the difference for us.”

Golden State’s win was its second straight — the Warriors beat the Utah Jazz on Sunday — after a blowout loss in its Las Vegas opener against the Portland Trail Blazers. Manon was also instrumental Sunday, posting 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal and three blocks in a 103-93 win.

It Meant A Lot To Meet Steph Curry – Will Richard

NBA News:

Bradley Beal agrees to buyout with Suns, to join Clippers | ESPN

After a two-year run in Phoenix did not work out, the crux of the decision for Beal and his representation was finding the best basketball fit, first and foremost. Beal was granted permission by the Suns to speak to interested teams around the league, sources said. Bartelstein led an exhaustive process over the past several weeks, meeting with teams involved, that allowed Beal to make the decision to part with the Suns and control where he wanted to go.

Commissioner Adam Silver discusses expansion, the aprons & a streaming future | NBA

Still, he said: “I think we also have this greater obligation to expand, if we do so, in a very deliberate fashion in a way that makes sense holistically for the league. That’s really the best I can do.”

This much is certain: The admission fee of any new member likely has increased significantly, owing to recent sales of the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers with valuations of $6.1 billion and $10 billion, respectively.

“Had we expanded five years ago,” Silver said, “we would have underpriced the market.”

Former All-Star Victor Oladipo pursuing a return to the NBA

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Three-time All-Star guard signs with Warriors rival

The Warriors could have used Beal’s scoring, but they’ve been limited in their moves thanks to the restricted free agency of Jonathan Kuminga. There doesn’t appear to be a market for any of the four top restricted free agents — Kuminga, Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls, Quentin Grimes of the Philadelphia 76ers, and Cam Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets — which has limited their teams’ activities. Teams have the right to match any free-agent offer sheet to an RFA as long as they make a qualifying offer, but absent a suitor willing to tie up their cap space with such an offer, negotiations often drag on for months.

Follow @unstoppablebaby on Twitter for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.