The Golden State Warriors are at an impasse this offseason as they figure out what to do with Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency. There’s been no indication yet that there will be any sort of conclusion in the immediate future, though there has been interest from a couple of teams to do a sign-and-trade to acquire the former lottery pick.
It may be seen as stubbornness from Golden State’s side, but according to The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami, the Warriors are being prudent in their handling of Kuminga in the event that Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes available on the trade market.
Despite all the offseason buzz suggesting that Antetokounmpo may request a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks, that hasn’t been the case so far. However, teams are clearly thinking about the possibility of that changing. That includes the Warriors, who want to get the most in return for Kuminga in case they need to use those assets to try to make a run at the Greek Freak. Or, perhaps the Warriors re-sign Kuminga to a fair deal in order to trade him in a deal that would land them Antetokounmpo. The point is, the Warriors, like every other team in the league, are essentially looking over their shoulder in case Antetokounmpo becomes available.
That’s not to say Antetokounmpo will ask to leave Milwaukee — there’s been little to suggest that’s the case so far. And after waiving Damian Lillard to sign Myles Turner, the Bucks are at least still trying to build a winning team around their franchise centerpiece. But what if that changes in December, or around the trade deadline in February? Whatever happens with Kuminga, the Warriors want to make sure they’ve positioned themselves in a way that allows them to make a run at the two-time league MVP.
Kuminga’s pending status is holding up other deals the Warriors may try to get done — like signing veteran forward Al Horford, which has been a long-standing rumor, or the rumored interest in signing Seth Curry or De’Anthony Melton. None of that is likely to happen until Kuminga’s future is figured out, whether that means he remains on the Warriors or is traded for other role players that the Warriors find valuable.
There’s been no urgency from Kuminga’s side to get a deal done, and per ESPN, the Warriors do not want to take a deal that is less than Kuminga’s value; they’re aiming to get at least one first-round pick, a quality young player and receive no bad contracts in return. The Suns and Kings are two rumored teams with interest in Kuminga, but Phoenix doesn’t have a first-round pick to trade or any quality young players that would be of interest to Golden State. For now, it seems the cold war continues between Kuminga and the Warriors.