The Golden State Warriors could wholly invest in their backcourt ahead of the 2024-25 NBA trade deadline.
Warriors trade Jonathan Kuminga for Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin in mock deal
The Sporting News’ Colin Keane matched the Warriors up with the Indiana Pacers in a mutually beneficial Jonathan Kuminga for Bennedict Mathurin swap. Keane deemed the Pacers as illegitimate contenders while asserting that the Warriors could reap huge dividends by cementing a sharpshooting lineup for the future, saying this in part:
“Buddy Hield has injected some much-needed shooting into the post-Klay Thompson Warriors, and maybe Golden State should double down on their playing style by trading for another elite shooter on the wing,” Keane wrote.
One would think that Indiana Pacers shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin is considered almost untouchable by Indiana’s front office, but the Warriors might be able to tempt the Pacers by dangling Jonathan Kuminga’s expiring contract and a first-round pick in front of them.”
Warriors: Mathurin is a talented shooter with a major scoring upside
Though only 13 games into the year, Mathurin is having a career season. The Canadian off-guard is averaging 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on 52.6 percent shooting from the field and a stout 43.8 percent clip from three-point range. He’s shown the ability to score in volume, headlined by his 38-point masterclass in Indiana’s 132-121 win over the New York Knicks on Nov. 10, where he also drilled seven threes.
Is Mathurin a better bet to evolve into an elite scorer than Kuminga?
The Warriors would have to ask themselves if the promising young scorer could burgeon into a 25-PPG caliber player in the league. It’s looking like that’s in his future at the present. However, from day one, Kuminga looked like a talent who was destined for that level of greatness. While he’s been relegated to a bench role, the Democratic Republic of the Congo native putting up 14.2 PPG and 4.3 RPG in roughly seven fewer minutes of playing time than the Arizona product.
Thus, there’s reason to believe that both talents will reach their ceiling in the league in due time. Albeit, it might benefit the Warriors more to keep their 6-7 forward in their thin and aging frontcourt for when Draymond Green, 34, decides to retire. Golden State also has Hield at the two, who provides a lot of what Mathurin does with more polish and experience. Nevertheless, Mathurin is a player for the franchise to watch as his name floats in trade rumors early.