If the Chicago Bulls' trade deadline decisions weren't already baffling, Jonathan Kuminga’s 27-point explosion in his Atlanta Hawks debut cemented it.
The 23-year-old, acquired in a deadline maneuver with the Golden State Warriors, added seven rebounds, four assists and two steals while shooting 3-of-4 from three ... in just 24 minutes.
The Bulls were linked to Kuminga as far back as last season, but executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas ultimately chose not to make a trade — despite publicly acknowledging his affinity for Kuminga several times.
Instead, he traded away franchise pillars Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Nikola Vucevic for a quartet of guards and a group of second-round picks.Â
One of those selections could become the next Draymond Green or Khris Middleton, but no player the Bulls acquired at the deadline has delivered the kind of impact Kuminga made in just one night.
Jonathan Kuminga proved Bulls made another trade deadline mistake
The Hawks did what Karnisovas chose not to do and acquired a distressed asset at its lowest value, landing a former top-seven pick for an injured center who was never going to play in the form of Kristaps Porzingis. (Atlanta also got Buddy Hield from the Warriors.)
Kuminga was part of a situation that got super weird in Golden State, which understandably caused some hesitation on the part of certain teams, but it didn’t take long for him to prove Hawks GM Onsi Saleh was right in taking a low-risk swing.
The former G League Ignite star is a tremendous athlete. He’s exceptionally strong, an explosive leaper and is comfortable barrelling through defenders to finish at the rim. He’s flashed a three-level scoring skill set that includes a workable outside shot.
When he was forced to step in as Steph Curry's No. 1 running mate during the 2025 Western Conference Semifinals, Kuminga averaged 20.8 points while shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range. He can carry an offense when he gets hot, as he just did for Atlanta.
The Bulls' deadline acquisitions have been underwhelming
Karnisovas deserves at least an ounce of credit — he finally pivoted away from chasing the play-in tournament and cleaned house. White went to Charlotte, Dosunmu went to Minnesota and Vucevic went to Boston.Â
In came Anfernee Simons and Collin Sexton, both of whom are on expiring contracts. He landed Jaden Ivey, who at 24 still has upside and can be re-signed this summer as a restricted free agent. Rob Dillingham, the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft, finally has a chance to spread his wings on a rebuilding team.
But Kuminga was sitting there for Karnisovas to acquire for next to nothing, and unsurprisingly, he failed to act.