Inside The Heat

Possible Miami Heat Trade Target Hints at Potential Move

Jake Elman

Dec 6, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) passes the basketball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
Dec 6, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) passes the basketball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
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For weeks, basketball pundits have suggested Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga as a possible Miami Heat trade target.

Suddenly, the idea of a Kuminga trade doesn’t sound too unrealistic. 

Kuminga, much like Heat star Jimmy Butler, remains the subject of trade rumors. The 2021 No. 7 pick averages 15.1 points and 4.4 rebounds on a Warriors team needing another superstar to join Stephen Curry.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr doesn’t sound like someone who wants to keep Kuminga around. Kerr fired what many perceived as a subliminal shot at the fourth-year big man following Saturday’s 113-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, calling out unnamed “young players” for being selfish rather than passing the ball to Curry.

Kuminga seemingly responded via Instagram on Sunday night, posting a gallery and attaching the song “Show Me The Way” by Papa Wemba. He captioned the post with three peace sign emojis, which can be interpreted as saying goodbye.

Kuminga’s post remained up as of Monday evening.

Kuminga plays on a one-year team option the Warriors picked up in October. He hits restricted free agency next summer barring an extension. 

Whether or not Kuminga winds up in Miami, assuming he’s dealt at all, remains to be determined. He makes sense as a young big man who can potentially start at the four, allowing Bam Adebayo to stay at center. 

We recently proposed the following trade:

Heat acquire: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State’s 2025 first-round pick, 2026 first-round swap (via Golden State)

Warriors acquire: Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson

Only time will tell if the Warriors and Heat make any trade, let alone one that lands Kuminga in Miami. But if the Warriors are open to trading Kuminga ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, the Heat should definitely make a play. 

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.

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Jake Elman
JAKE ELMAN

Jake Elman is a veteran sports journalist and graduate of Florida Atlantic University’s journalism program. In recent years, he has covered the NFL for EndGame360 and served as the sports content lead for ExpressVPN. He also covered the Lane Kiffin years at FAU for the Palm Beach Post.