The Golden State Warriors are in a holding pattern this offseason because they have not yet resolved the curious case of their restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
With no money left in free agency, only two paths remain: re-sign with the Warriors or wait for a team willing to give up value in a sign-and-trade.
According to ClutchPoint’s Brett Siegel, Kuminga and his representatives met with Golden State last week at the start of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
“The update I got was that things went as expected: No deal, but an understanding of what everything is looking like,” Siegel wrote on X.
A quirk in the Collective Bargaining Agreement rules also complicates Kuminga’s unresolved situation.
In a sign-and-trade scenario, only 50% of his outgoing salary is accounted for matching purposes. But his full salary counts as the incoming salary for whichever team acquires him.
For example, if Kuminga signs for $30 million annual average salary, the Warriors will only be trading $15 million while their trade partner will incur the full $30 million in their books.
Warriors Reject Kings’ Offer
The Warriors have rejected a trade offer from the Sacramento Kings for their restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, Anthony Slater of The Athletic previously reported.
“They’ve drawn inbound calls in recent days, most notably from the Sacramento Kings, who floated an offer of Devin Carter, Dario Šarić and two second-round picks, league sources said. The Warriors have so far balked at what they felt was a buy-low attempt, league sources said,” Slater wrote.
Slater added that the Warriors are looking for “a promising young player, plus a first-round pick” in a sign-and-trade scenario for the 22-year-old athletic forward.
Up to this point, no team has come forward willing to pay the hefty price tag.
Siegel predicts Kuminga will remain with the Warriors and get flipped at the trade deadline.
“I still expect Kuminga staying in the $20M to $25M range with a [player option] and trade kicker,” Siegel wrote on X.
Jonathan Kuminga Wants Lucrative Deal, Expanded Role
Kuminga, the No. 7 overall pick in 2021, is seeking a new deal worth between $25 million and $30 million per year, Siegel previously reported. On top of that, he is “looking for an expanded and consistent role moving forward,” Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto previously reported.
The Warriors will not offer that money to Kuminga, who will come off the bench next season if he remains with the team.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr made it clear he cannot commit to what Kuminga is looking for in his career with the current timeline of the Warriors and their roster construction.
“I’ve been asked to win,” Kerr told The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” on May 21. “And right now, he’s not a guy who I can say, I’m going to play 38 minutes with the roster we have, Steph [Curry], Jimmy [Butler], and Draymond [Green], and put the puzzle together that way and expect to win.”
Kuminga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists last season. He ended what could be the final stretch of his Warriors career in a scoring flurry, averaging 24.3 points on 55.4% overall shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line in their playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves after Stephen Curry got hurt.
But his flashy numbers did not translate into winning, which has been the recurring theme of Kuminga’s NBA career to this point. That heavily factored into Kerr’s decision to play the veterans over him.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Warriors-Jonathan Kuminga Meeting: What Happened in Vegas? appeared first on Heavy Sports.