The Golden State Warriors are less than two weeks away from training camp and they have still yet to reach an agreement with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga in a lengthy negotiation process. And with the young forward unwilling to sign onto any of the three reported offers from the Warriors, he and his camp are now using their biggest source of leverage to potentially get a deal done: the qualifying offer.
Kuminga’s agent told ESPN that Kuminga is willing to take the qualifying offer, which ties him to Golden State for one year at a $7.9 million price tag and allows him to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
“He will take the QO,” agent Aaron Turner said on “The Hoop Collective.” “But if he’s treated fairly, and in our mind that’s flipping [team option] to [player option], he’s back, and then we don’t have to talk about the QO. But the QO is real. It’s something that JK wants to take. It does have upside. You’re not getting traded. You’re going to have unrestricted free agency.”
Jonathan Kuminga contract: Warriors forward rejects latest offer from front office in stalemate, per report
Robby Kalland
The team and player options Turner referenced are the main point of contention in Kuminga’s negotiations. The young forward wants a player option on the back end of his deal, permitting him to bet on himself as a free agent in a more favorable market. The Warriors have thus far been unwilling to include that in his long-term contract, settling only for a team option.
“He wants to pick where he wants to go and the opportunity to be an unrestricted free agent in a way better market,” said Turner. “So the QO is real, for sure. It’s being considered completely. It’s being talked about. … But it’s not something anybody wants to do.”
The Warriors made a concession to add a third year to their latest offer, but Kuminga did not budge and rejected the proposal because of the team option for Year 3. That offer is the third of three separate frameworks the Warriors reportedly put on the table.
Kuminga’s most lucrative choice is that three-year, $75.2 million deal with a third-year team option. If he is unwilling to lock himself in for three years, he could take a two-year, $45 million deal with a team option for the second year. There is also a third offer that includes no options but pays Kuminga a much lower salary over a three-year, $54 million deal.
Turner made it clear that Kuminga’s end goal is not necessarily to leave Golden State but to allow himself the flexibility to do so if another team offers him a larger, more guaranteed role. The former first-round pick made just 10 starts across 47 games last season and has never started more than 46 games in a campaign despite his production. Kuminga averaged 16.1 points per game and shot 52.9% from the field in 2024 before dipping to 15.3 points on 45.4% last year.