Jonathan Kuminga Rejects Warriors’ Offer
The Golden State Warriors continue their efforts to retain Jonathan Kuminga, but the restricted player is still rejecting the two-year, $45 million contract offer, according to sources close to the situation. Kuminga’s decision is largely due to the Warriors’ insistence on including a team option for the second season and their refusal to allow him to keep the built-in “no-trade” clause. His agent, Aaron Turner, presented the Warriors with several models during the summer league meetings in Las Vegas, including a three-year deal for around $82 million that would allow the Warriors to stay below the second salary cap to use the taxpayer mid-level exception. Kuminga and Turner have been exploring “sign-and-trade” options during the month of July. The most significant negotiations have been with the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns, receiving offers of up to four years for about 90 million dollars in total, including a player option for the last season. The Warriors have not shown interest in trade compensation from the Kings and Suns for Kuminga. In recent days, they have begun to signal a plan to completely cut off “sign-and-trade” conversations, maximizing their restricted free agency leverage. Their current stance is that Kuminga will be on the Warriors’ roster to start next season, either through their two-year offer or the one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer, whichever Kuminga prefers. Kuminga prefers the long-term offers presented by the Kings and Suns, as he believes they signify a fresh start, a guaranteed wider role, a promised starting position, and a greater level of respect and control over his career, which is partly shown through the player option. Phoenix’s proposal also guarantees almost 70 million dollars more than the Warriors’ offer.This ongoing stalemate centers on control, and the dispute over the option is crucial. Kuminga believes that accepting the Warriors’ two-year offer with a team option, along with waiving trade veto rights, cedes too much control to a franchise that, according to him, has stunted and prolonged his career for four seasons. The Suns and Kings have proposed to Kuminga the defined type of role that has eluded him with the Warriors. Golden State coach Steve Kerr made several comments after the Jimmy Butler trade, that Kuminga’s fit alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green made it difficult to give him consistent minutes. Sources close to the situation say that Kuminga is more interested in external options, seeing Kerr as someone who has made it clear that there is no defined opportunity for him to play many minutes every night with the Warriors. The Warriors believe they have the best offer on the table for Kuminga due to the higher starting salary ($21.7 million next season compared to $19.8 million elsewhere) and the concept of a two-year team option. The deal is purposely structured to be tradeable starting January 15th, and if Kuminga’s ultimate desire is to play elsewhere, it would allow his next team to decline the team option and extend him. He would be the fourth-highest-paid player on the Warriors next season if he accepted the offer. Golden State is the only NBA team that has not made any acquisitions in the preseason due to the lack of resolution with Kuminga.I’m not in a hurry to close a deal with the Warriors.
Jonathan Kuminga
According to the collective bargaining agreement, the Warriors’ proposed one-plus-one contract would have an inherent no-trade clause, as Kuminga’s next team would not retain his Bird rights. That would give Kuminga a level of control over his next NBA home, should the Warriors decide to trade him. But the Warriors have requested that he waive that implicit no-trade clause, similar to what D’Angelo Russell did for his contract with the Lakers in the summer of 2023.
That negotiation is another example of the ongoing fight for control of Kuminga’s future. That’s why, despite the short and long-term financial risk, Kuminga is expressing his willingness to take the qualifying offer. He would be rejecting almost 14 million extra dollars next season, but would be given an implicit no-trade clause and the possibility of becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, at age 23. Kuminga has until October 1st to sign the qualifying offer.
