Three things remain true about Jonathan Kuminga and his future: 1) He wants a bigger role with a team, to be a top-two focal point, something not happening in Golden State anytime soon; 2) Kuminga remains at a stalemate with the Golden Warriors over his next contract (an issue that will be resolved by Oct. 1, one way or another); 3) A divorce between the sides seems inevitable.
All of which is why Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, made the media rounds recently. He made the case that if the Warriors don’t up the offers to the restricted free agent — specifically giving Kuminga a player option rather than a team option on the final year of their offers — he will take the qualifying offer, play for one year, then become a free agent. Here is what Turner said on ESPN’s “The Hoop Collective” podcast.
“He wants to pick where he wants to go. So the QO is real for sure.”
Golden State has made three offers to Kuminga (that we know of). The most recent and largest contract is a three-year deal worth $75.2 million, with a team option for the third year. The other primary one was a two-year, $45 million offer, but with a team option on the second year and the Warriors are demanding Kuminga give up the no-trade clause that would come with this offer. The third was a three-year, $54 million deal that was well below fair market value for the forward entering his fifth season.
The first two of those are set up to make Kuminga a trade chip — but one where he has no real control. Kuminga’s leverage is that he will take the Warriors’ qualifying offer — he gets a no-trade clause, likely would play out the season with the Warriors, then become a free agent next summer. That comes with risk and about $16 million left on the table this season, but Turner emphasized it’s in play.
“If JK wants to take [the qualifying offer], it does have upside, right? We’ve talked about that. You’re not getting traded. You’re going to have unrestricted free agency. People are going to say, ‘Well, Aaron, there’s not going to be 10 or 12 teams [with cap space].’ Fine, there’ll be six teams with cap space for the clear-cut under-35 top wing on the market. So there’s a lot of upside.”
One way or another, it seems the Warriors and Kuminga are headed for a split — on a team aiming to win now with Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green as natural fours, where does Kuminga fit in? Warriors coach Steve Kerr has never fully trusted Kuminga (with reason at times), and it feels like the sides are locked in. The Warriors talked trade with Sacramento and Phoenix, but no deal was reached.
The most likely outcome is a compromise contract between the Warriors and Kuminga that gets him some money, some control, but sets up a trade, something Turner talked about in an appearance on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco.
“Another point is: he’s probably… there’s a good chance he gets traded. Okay? There’s a good chance he gets traded, and that’s halfway through the year. And he has to go to some team that he doesn’t necessarily know which team that’s going to be, or what exactly that’s going to entail. So when we look at those factors, and just the fact that he’s been there for four years and it’s been up and down and up and down… when you look at all that, you go, ‘Okay, the player option is the signal to him that like, make this work.’ And you know, for us, we view it as we see his market at a certain level right now, you know, $24 million. We could all argue about that or whatnot. But making sure that the [Warriors] can stay under the second apron? No problem. We can help with that.”
It’s a sticky mess of a situation, but one with an absolute deadline — Kuminga has to take the qualifying offer by Oct. 1. Either a new deal is worked out by then, or Kuminga will pick up the offer and play out this season with the Warriors, eyes forward on next summer. That’s not a good situation for Kuminga or the Warriors, which is why some kind of two- or three-year contract likely gets worked out in the coming 10 days.
However it shakes out, by Oct. 1 Kuminga will have a new contract and be on a path to another team. Wherever that might be.