Kristaps Porziņģis heads to the Warriors as Atlanta lands forward Jonathan Kuminga and sharpshooter Buddy Hield.
Kristaps Porziņģis' time with the Atlanta Hawks is over, as ESPN's Shams Charania reported late Wednesday night that the Hawks are trading away Porziņģis to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga.
Porziņģis has played in just 17 games (12 starts) for Atlanta this season, and had averaged 17.1 points per game for the Hawks when on the court, but that's been a rare occurrence. The Hawks acquired Kristaps before the season, and likely didn't expect they'd have to move on from him halfway through the season. Kristaps Porziņģis missed several games in January due to a left Achilles issue, and when he had been cleared to return to the lineup, he went down again with an unknown illness.
This is now the fourth trade the Hawks have made since January. First, star point guard Trae Young was dealt away to the Wizards, and then Vit Krejci landed with the Trail Blazers. Earlier today, Atlanta acquired Jock Landale from the Jazz.
As for the Jonathan Kuminga-Buddy Hield acquisitions, Kuminga had requested a trade out of Golden State a while back, and it was well known that he'd likely be on the move at some point before the trade deadline. Kuminga is averaging 12.1 points this season over 20 games on 45% shooting.
Hawks' GM Onsi Saleh is a former executive with the Warriors, so that might have helped facilitate this trade.
The 23-year-old forward Kuminga was the seventh overall draft pick in the 2021 draft by the Warriors, and had spent all four years of his career with Golden State before this trade. Salary cap analyst Yossi Gozlan provided some insight as to what Jonathan Kuminga's contract situation is:
"Jonathan Kuminga has a $24.3 million team option for next season. If declined, the Hawks can re-sign him for up to four years, $116 million with his Non Bird rights. His 15 percent trade bonus will increase his salary by $1.3 million ($22.5 million ➡️ $23.8 million)."
Gozlan also reports that the Hawks had decided that they weren't going to re-sign Porziņģis, who is on an expiring contract. This caused a pivot to Kuminga, and Hield in on a guaranteed $3 million deal, but the Hawks can save $25 million this summer if they decline Kuminga's team option.
Buddy Hield is a 10-year NBA veteran shooting guard who should be able to provide the Hawks with another bench scorer.
It's still possible one of the recently acquired players by the Hawks could be on the move again, as Atlanta's roster is starting to become very deep. Hield has played in 44 games this season and is averaging eight PPG in 17.5 minutes per game.
Kuminga originally requested a trade out of Golden State for a couple reasons, which include frustration over his reduced role and a bad relationship with head coach Steve Kerr.
Now, both Kuminga and Hield (if they survive the trade deadline), will head to Atlanta and help the Hawks earn a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.