Kuminga close to qualifying offer with Warriors: Uncertain future?

Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors: Negotiations at a Critical Point

Jonathan Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, has revealed that the player is willing to accept the $8 million qualifying offer if the Golden State Warriors do not improve their current proposals. Contract negotiations have reached an impasse, less than two weeks before the start of training camp.

There is a lot of potential. He wants to choose where he wants to go. So the qualified offer is real, for sure.

Aaron Turner

The Warriors have presented Kuminga, 22, with three different offers. The most lucrative is a three-year, $75.2 million contract, with a team option in the third season, guaranteeing Kuminga $48.3 million in the first two years. He has also been offered a two-year, $45 million contract with a team option in the second season and a three-year, $54 million contract without options. Kuminga, so far, has rejected all proposals.

The player requests that the Warriors convert the team option into a player option, something the team has refused so far. Turner has emphasized the importance of this option to keep a key player happy and valued within the team.

If the Warriors want to win now, if they want a player who is happy and treated fairly, which is a big part of this team, we believe that, in the future, he should be given the player option.

Aaron Turner

Kuminga’s contract situation has prevented the Warriors from signing other free agents, leaving the team with only nine players on their roster shortly before the start of the season. It is expected that they will sign veterans like Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II once Kuminga’s future is resolved. In the event of accepting the qualifying offer, Kuminga would forgo more than $40 million guaranteed over the next two seasons, but would gain unrestricted free agency next summer and an inherent no-trade clause, giving him control over his future. Kuminga has been exploring his options in the market, with interest from teams like the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns, who have shown an aggressive stance in their pursuit. However, they have not managed to finalize trade offers that convince the Warriors. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. expressed in June that the team was in a “good position” with Kuminga, but an agreement has not yet been reached. Warriors owner Joe Lacob met with Kuminga in Miami in August to try to resolve the contract dispute, but negotiations continue without significant progress.