GSW... Are you going to commit to Kuminga being THE center piece for the team after Curry, Butler, and Green retire? Because his next big contract would be a commitment to him being THE GUY for GSW for the years after Curry. There are a LOT of times where Hield doesn't look like he is fitting in as well as he should either. Failing to make the right passes and dribbling the air out of the ball.

I think Kuminga has all-star upside still, but not a lot of teams are willing to give him a big contract and trade a solid value back to GSW. He was getting DNPs this season! So, with POR interested and having an expiring contract in Ayton, I feel this trade works out well for both sides. The size of the contract Kuminga needs to make the deal work is baked into the value GSW gets back as well.

GSW can use Ayton as a rental. If he plays well, they can resign him to a new deal. Most likely MUCH lower than a Kuminga deal. They get the 10th pick (most likely) in this draft. Get a solid roational player and maybe even a Green replacement (Murray-Boyles). Plus additional draft capital.

This keeps GSW salary flexible for the next offseason so they can reassess the team and either build to compete or start trading players off and go rebuilding with extra draft picks. Signing Kuminga would force the team to commit a large chunk of the salary cap to him for at least 4 years. I just don't see that for GSW who were making him a DNP player....