NBA Rumors: Fighters ‘More Willing Than Ever’ to Trade Kuminga; Jimmy Butler linked | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Amid a 4-1 start to the season, the Golden State Warriors are already exploring all options to improve their roster around Stephen Curry.

According to Sam Amick and John Hollinger of The Athletic, rival NBA executives believe the Warriors are “more willing than ever” to include Jonathan Kuminga in a trade and are keeping an eye on Jimmy Butler if the Miami Heat decide to sign the six-time All-Star to move. -Star.

The Warriors are currently reluctant to involve Kuminga in a trade for a potential star, but there are some indications that their feelings about the 22-year-old are softening.

Perhaps the biggest indicator was that Golden State opted not to give Kuminga an extension before the Oct. 21 deadline for players to sign new deals.

According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, the Warriors and Kuminga were “never closer” to a new deal, even though the team offered him around $30 million per season. A full rookie max contract was valued at $224 million over five years.

Butler has experienced his own contract drama with the Heat. The 35-year-old reportedly plans to see out his existing contract before withdrawing after this season.

The same issues that plagued the Heat last season have surfaced early this season. They have problems scoring, ranking 21st in offensive rating and 27th in points per game.

Butler’s scoring average of 16.8 points per game is his lowest since the 2013-14 season (13.1). He continues to do a great job with his all-around contributions, averaging 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game.

If the Heat reach a point where they don’t consider this version of their roster a legitimate title contender, they could opt for a soft reset to add players and draft assets that can get them back to that level as quickly as possible next season . .

Given his age and contract status, Butler would be an obvious trade candidate the Heat could use in conversations.

Kuminga is off to a disappointing start, allowing just 11.4 points on 40.8 percent shooting and 3.4 rebounds per game in five appearances. He’s only 22 and is coming off a breakout 2023-24 season in which he averaged a career-high 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

A team like the Warriors is looking to maximize this window while Curry is still playing at a high level. Head coach Steve Kerr is doing his best to find the best rotation for this version of the roster by consistently running a 12-man rotation to start the season.

The strategy has paid off for Kerr as the Warriors have won four of their first five games, but their schedule will get tougher with upcoming games against the Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks in the next matches. two weeks.