With the season officially wrapped up, the Utah Jazz now turn to the offseason. The first priority is the draft, but it doesn't stop there. The Jazz should also look to free agency to help form their next playoff contender.
They could go after some of the better players who will fit the free agent market, like Quentin Grimes, but he's restricted, plus he's better suited on a team that's trying to win now like the Sixers are (or tried to be).
Really, what Utah needs is a talented player who isn't quite a finished product yet and has the potential to be better than he is in the right situation. Lauri Markkanen has been that player for the Jazz, and a player who could follow in his footsteps is Golden State Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga.
The San Francisco Standard's Tim Kawakami revealed that Kuminga likely won't be on the Warriors next season.
"The likely situation is [Jonathan Kuminga]'s not going to be on the Warriors next season. Things can change, but all things being equal, it was probably going to be a tricky situation for him to come back to the Warriors anyway...I don't know that he's going to be galloping to… pic.twitter.com/yoliJTTkcl
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) April 18, 2025
Kuminga will likely be a restricted free agent, but it looks like the Warriors won't pull out all the stops to keep him on the team going forward. Thus, opening up a potential buy-low opportunity for the Jazz.
Why the Jazz should go after Kuminga
First, let's confront the irony here. A few months ago, it was brought up that the Jazz were right to pass on the chance to acquire Kuminga for Markkanen. That is still true in the context that adding Kuminga should not come at the cost of giving up Markkanen.
However, adding Kuminga at no cost at all is a different story. If the Jazz can do that without having to give up anything valuable and not have to pay much in the process, they should do it. Kuminga appeals to them more multiple reasons.
1. His youth and talent
Kuminga is only 22 years old. Getting a player like him when he's shown the promise that he has could show that the best is yet to come. He's not your typical buy-low young talent, as he's proven he can score from his slashing ability.
Last season, he broke out, averaging 16.1 points, and while that fell a tad to 15.3, Kuminga has shown that he has talent. He's still raw as a player overall, but his scoring prowess is undeniable.
Once again, this isn't too far off from what Markkanen was when the Jazz first brought him in. He showed his talent but never quite had the right staff to help him find himself. One year into his Jazz tenute, he's an All-Star and the NBA's most improved player.
It's not that the Jazz should count on Kuminga to do the same if they gave him the same opportunity. It's that it couldn't hurt to give him the opportunity period.
2. He fits Utah's timeline better than Golden State's
Part of Kuminga's problem in Golden State is that he's a talented youngster who was expected to perform well right away on a team designed to win now, like Golden State. His inconsistency has indicated that he's not quite ready for prime time.
For what it's worth, it's not anyone's fault that he and Golden State don't mesh well together. However, in Utah, they would have the patience to let Kuminga take his sweet time figuring out what kind of player he is. A pressure-free environment could be exactly what Kuminga needs to
3. Utah lacks a player like him on the roster
Utah has some pieces of a solid infrastructure, but something they don't have is an interchangeable, athletic two-way forward. While Kuminga may not make any All-Defense teams in the near future, he is an upgrade over who the Jazz have along the perimeter as defenders.
For the Jazz to build a winning roster long-term, they need guys who can fill holes for them. Kuminga could be that kind of player for them, even if he won't fill every single hole nor can he fill it completely by himself.
4. Kuminga brings championship experience
While it's not like Kuminga played a sizable role in the Warriors' last championship, he technically was on the roster when it happened in 2022. That counts for something even if it doesn't count for all that much.
The Jazz have added players who had championship experience under their belts around this time last year when they signed Patty Mills and Svi Mykhailiuk, so there is clearly some interest in adding players who have won.
Even if Kuminga wasn't Golden State's missing piece on that title team, he had about as much to do with it as Mykhailiuk did with the Celtics' championship last year. The Jazz could use his experience to learn what it takes to reach that level, even if he may not necessarily be their best player, should he be added to the team.