Kuminga-Warriors War: Uncertain Future? Negotiations and tensions in Golden State

The Tense Negotiation: Kuminga and the Warriors at the Crossroads

After weeks of speculation, Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob burst onto the scene in mid-August, marking a turning point in negotiations with Jonathan Kuminga, who is in his restricted free agency. The situation, which had been kept in the background for the first six weeks, took an unexpected turn. The meeting, requested by General Manager Mike Dunleavy, was scheduled for the morning of Monday, August 11th in Miami. The urgency of the situation forced Lacob to move quickly. Negotiations between Kuminga and the Warriors’ management had reached a standstill. The franchise had rejected the possibility of transfers and maintained a firm stance regarding offers from teams such as the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors’ offer, a two-year, $45 million contract, did not satisfy Kuminga, mainly due to the team option for the second season and the waiver of the no-trade clause. Faced with this situation, the key parties, Lacob, Dunleavy, Kuminga and his agent, Aaron Turner, met to address what seemed to be the most crucial conversation of an offseason full of uncertainty. During the meeting, figures, contractual structures, and the challenges that had led to this stagnation were discussed. However, the most pressing question came from Lacob’s side: “Do you want to be here?”

Do you want to be here?

Joe Lacob

The salary proposed by the Warriors, of 21.7 million dollars for next season, represented a larger sum compared to the theoretical offers from Phoenix and Sacramento, although with fewer long-term guarantees. This would make him the fourth highest-paid player on the team, which has three Hall of Fame members. The Warriors considered the offer fair, while Kuminga’s reluctance suggested his desire to seek new horizons. The contract structure, favorable to the team, was designed to facilitate a possible transfer in January. The intention was to keep him on the bench or transfer him to a less favorable situation. Kuminga, confident in his talent, is looking for an environment where he can fully develop. Faced with this, Kuminga posed a question similar to Lacob and the Warriors: “Do they really want me here?”

The urgency increases for NBA teams without complete rosters, especially for the Warriors, who are in the final stage of Stephen Curry’s competitive window and have only filled nine of their 15 official spots two weeks before the start of training camp. Kuminga is the key piece that triggers the rest of their plans. In recent weeks, Kuminga’s phone has been active. His teammates, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, have contacted him to find out his plans and state of mind. His agent, Turner, has delivered the latest proposals from the management after a week of intense negotiations, but there is still no agreement. The Warriors have intensified their efforts, offering Kuminga a three-year, $75.2 million contract with a team option in the third season. This represents $48.3 million guaranteed in the first two seasons, with an annual salary similar to Josh Giddey’s. The difference lies in the duration and a team-controlled season, suggesting the contract is more of a trade asset than a long-term commitment. The Warriors insist on the team option in their offers, a crucial point in the stalemate. Kuminga, seeking control in his young career, resists this idea.

The only offer without a team option that the Warriors have made is for three years and 54 million dollars fully guaranteed, averaging 18 million dollars per season. Turner and Kuminga have requested a player option as part of their preferred agreements, showing willingness to reduce to the range of 20 million dollars per year. The Warriors, for their part, consider the player option not a viable option.

In the presented alternatives, a recent proposal stands out: a year with a negotiable number, similar to an improved qualifying offer, which would give Kuminga a salary increase and unrestricted free agency next summer, eliminating the no-trade clause and allowing the Warriors to use him as an expiring contract. Dunleavy rejected this proposal, and Lacob opposes the one-year offer, fearing losing Kuminga without compensation. The stagnation continues, and September brings with it greater pressure.

Lacob has been a key figure in Kuminga’s career. He was a driving force in his selection in the 2021 draft. He has shown his support for Kuminga, even refusing to include him in a possible trade for Alex Caruso. Lacob has maintained a supportive stance towards Kuminga, but has not demanded specific decisions about the rotation. However, considering the history and dynamics of the team, Kuminga’s return could imply a role on the bench and the possibility of reduced minutes. Kuminga’s personal relationship with coach Steve Kerr is not a problem, and the team’s message is that Kuminga would have an important role at the start of next season. However, in the negotiations, Kuminga’s camp has cited comments from Kerr about the difficulty of fitting Kuminga alongside Curry, Butler, and Green to get significant minutes and win at the highest level, suggesting that the on-court fit is not ideal for Kuminga’s trajectory.

Therefore, the following message has been conveyed to the Warriors’ management: sell the contract, not the basketball. Phoenix and Sacramento have offered player options in their proposals and have offered a starting position, something that is not available in the Warriors. He would not have the 30 minutes per night consistently nor the starting and closing role that he so desires.

This brings the conversation back to the meeting with Lacob. At that point, there was a feeling that Lacob would intervene and at least guarantee the financial investment that demonstrates the long-term belief in Kuminga that he often expresses. Or, if not, if the Warriors were unwilling to commit to what Turner and Kuminga were requesting, perhaps Lacob would show a greater willingness to greenlight a trade elsewhere and proceed with a basketball divorce that has often seemed necessary. They still don’t believe that box has been checked. While the NBA gathered in Las Vegas for the summer league in July, Turner presented Dunleavy and Jon Phelps, Warriors executive, with a three-year, $82 million offer, including a player option. The Warriors have been reluctant to offer such a large and long-term contract for Kuminga, showing concern about how it could affect the deal. Curry, Butler, and Green’s contracts expire after the 2026-27 season. At this time, they are projected to have a clear account and flexibility in the summer of 2027. The first year’s salary is also a crucial point of negotiation. The Warriors have planned to use their mid-level taxpayer exception, with Al Horford as a target, and have had significant conversations with veterans De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Seth Curry. That’s why Curry, Butler, and Green aren’t pushing in the background. They know the strategy and have approved that anticipated outcome. However, the tentative plan limits them to the second apron, meaning that $22.5 million is the most they could give Kuminga next season while keeping 15 players on the roster, a figure that has so far proven too low for Kuminga to accept a multi-year contract with a team option.

Kuminga’s biggest advantage is the one-year, $8 million qualifying offer, attached to an inherent no-trade clause. As the summer has progressed and the discontent in these negotiations has grown, Kuminga has become more comfortable with the idea. The decision to sign it could be made until the October 1 deadline, unless either party concedes. The financial disadvantages are clear. Kuminga would be rejecting up to 15.3 million additional dollars next season and risking a downward spiral in his career that never allows him to recover that money. It has become a league of extensions and Kuminga would be rejecting a larger fixed salary to extend his next deal. But Kuminga has stated that he believes he has the potential to be a multiple-time All-Star player. He has secured a loss-of-value insurance to protect himself in case he signs the qualifying offer. He is intrigued by the possibility of unrestricted free agency next summer, when at least 10 teams will have real salary cap space. He doesn’t obsess over every dollar lost in the moment and sees the qualifying offer as a clean vehicle for the control of his career. Rival teams, especially the Kings and the Suns, have recruited him this summer and his conversations with executives, coaches, and others in the league have only reinforced his long-term belief that the risk could be worth it. However, there’s a reason why he hasn’t accepted the qualifying offer yet. Turner and Kuminga are waiting in case something more attractive comes along, either through a contract offer or a trade, partly due to the belief of how imperative it is for the Warriors to avoid him being under the qualifying offer.

If Kuminga returns with her, she can veto any transfer next season and, with an expiring contract of 8 million dollars without Bird rights, her market value is greatly reduced, even if she approved a transfer. The Warriors will lose control of a crucial tool for building the squad during one of Curry’s last seasons, introduce a possible major distraction in the locker room and run the great risk of seeing Kuminga, their number 7 pick in 2021, leave for nothing next summer.

But there are secondary benefits to that overall disadvantage that are being considered as part of the equation. Returning with the qualifying offer would allow the Warriors to stay below the first apron and, as a repeater tax team, save nearly $70 million in luxury tax. They would still have Kuminga, a rotation forward, for one season on a cheap contract and retain his Bird rights, giving them the opportunity to revisit a long-term deal next summer or get value from him in a sign-and-trade scenario, similar to what they did when Klay Thompson went to Dallas. The Warriors included Thompson in a six-team deal that gave them Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson. But that would require Kuminga’s cooperation. If he’s under the qualifying offer, he still plans to show up to training camp and be part of the Warriors’ team this season, but his side views the qualifying offer route as an organizational burning of the long-term relationship. They would anticipate a clean separation next summer, with no motivation to allow the Warriors to recoup value unless it’s necessary to get Kuminga where he wants to go. As became clear in the conversation in Miami, this is a relationship where there seems to be a lack of trust and commitment, on both sides. Does Kuminga want to be there? Do the Warriors really want him or are they just looking for a more valuable moment to trade him? A temporary meeting is still the expected scenario, but the dynamics of the salary cap and restricted free agency have kept them in a summer standoff. Both are waiting for the other to blink.