The Golden State Warriors were displeased with Jonathan Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, for leaking details of trade talks during a recent media tour, but according to longtime NBC Sports Bay Area columnist Monte Poole, the franchise’s bigger concern is the looming start of training camp with no resolution in sight.
Frustration Over Public Leaks
“They weren’t happy with that,” Poole said on the Dubs Talk podcast, referring to Turner’s decision to go public with internal negotiations. “But I think the more pertinent factor is the fact that training camp is so close now, and that stirs a little bit of activity. Now you have an incentive to get something done and you don’t want the nightmare scenario where you open media day and there are nine guys there. You don’t want that. The Warriors don’t want it.”
Turner made the rounds on several outlets last week, escalating pressure on Golden State’s front office by revealing both contract details and trade discussions with the Sacramento Kings. For a franchise known for its discipline and discretion in negotiations, the move was seen as a breach of etiquette.
Stalemate Over Contract Structure
At the center of the impasse is control over Kuminga’s long-term future. Golden State initially offered a two-year, $45 million deal with a team option. That proposal later grew into a three-year, $75.2 million contract, guaranteeing $48.3 million in the first two years, according to ESPN.
Kuminga’s camp rejected both, insisting on a player option in the final season. Turner has framed the issue as one of trust and autonomy rather than money.
“If he’s treated fairly — and in our mind that’s flipping [the] team option to [a] player option — he’s back, and then we don’t have to talk about the [qualifying offer],” Turner told ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast. “But the QO is real. It’s something that JK wants to take. It does have upside. You’re not getting traded. You’re going to have unrestricted free agency.”
The Qualifying Offer Leverage
The 22-year-old forward is leaning toward accepting the $7.9 million qualifying offer for next season, Turner revealed. That decision would set Kuminga up for unrestricted free agency in 2026 and provide him with an inherent no-trade clause this year — a scenario Poole described as “nightmare” for Golden State.
It’s a leverage play that puts pressure on the Warriors, who risk losing one of their top young players for nothing if an extension or trade is not worked out.
A Rare Break in the Warriors’ Discipline
Poole emphasized that the leaks were especially jarring because of the organization’s history of secrecy.
“If you’re the Warriors, you’re like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’” Poole said. “We keep things really kind of under our vest here. We don’t really do that kind of thing. And the Warriors are a relatively leak-proof organization when it comes to when they actually make a move.”
Poole pointed to the Jimmy Butler trade earlier this year as an example.
“That surprised a lot of people,” he said. “It wasn’t like there were a few days where there was talk about, ‘Oh, the Warriors could go after Jimmy Butler.’ It was more like, no, we knew the Heat wanted to get rid of Jimmy Butler, but who would take him? And the Warriors ended up going there because [general manager] Mike Dunleavy [Jr.] was stealth about it, and got it done.”
Urgency Ahead of Training Camp
With media day scheduled for Monday, Sept. 29, Golden State faces growing urgency. Whether through an extension, a sign-and-trade, or a fallback decision by Kuminga to take the qualifying offer, the situation needs resolution before it casts a shadow over camp and ultimately, their season.
“So, now you look at what Aaron Turner does, and the Warriors didn’t like that,” Poole concluded. “But they also know the bigger factor is that training camp is so close. They’ve got to get something done. This is not going to work out. One way or the other, they’ve got to get something done. And ideally, like I said earlier, ideally, it’s a sign-and-trade. And that just hasn’t clicked for them.”
For now, the standoff continues, leaving Golden State to weigh its options between protecting its locker-room stability and preserving its long-term roster flexibility.
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