During the offseason, Jonathan Kuminga's ongoing situation with the Golden State Warriors seemed to be the talking point of free agency.
The restricted free agent made it clear that his preference was for a fresh start in a new situation on a team that would give him the opportunity to prove he could be the star he was drafted to be.
However, the Warriors' reluctancy to give Kuminga that opportunity led to a stale market in free agency with teams feeling like even if they could strike a deal with Kuminga, the price to complete a trade with Golden State would either be too expensive or simply just unrealistic.
General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. had no motive to let the versatile forward walk for free, but beyond that, the team's decision maker made all indications clear that he would only let Kuminga go for the right deal.
Kuminga had several interested suitors check in on his situation, with the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat coming to mind.
Nonetheless, the one team who's interest peaked conversations was the preliminary discussions had by the Washington Wizards.
Washington made it clear this past offseason that the team would be aggressive to not only improve their roster for the long haul, but also the immediate future,
Prior to the team's decision to land Cam Whitmore from the Houston Rockets for an extremely discounted price, the Wizards checked in on Kuminga, which proved the team's brass at least had a level of interest in pairing Kuminga in the frontcourt alongside former No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr.
Those discussions didn't lead anywhere, nor did discussions with any other team which eventually led to Kuminga signing the qualifying offer extended by the Warriors, with a mutual agreement in place that the team would potentially look to move the forward ahead of the NBA trade deadline in February.
Fast forward to now, Kuminga's only become more disgruntled, especially after the former G-League Ignite standout was forced to feel like the scapegoat after being benched due to the team's struggling start to the season.
If this does indeed lead to the wing being dealt ahead of the deadline, it could not only allow for the Wizards to check back in, but become aggressive, especially if Golden State lessened their asking price seeing a fit between the two sides just has proven overwhelmingly unlikely.
A mutual split could be looming and a team like the Wizards could be the perfect place for Kuminga to get his career back on track.