After the Golden State Warriors‘ second-round exit, the biggest question hanging over their summer is where Jonathan Kuminga will play next season.
Kuminga repeatedly answered “I don’t know” when asked about his future in his end-of-season press conference on Thursday.
Even Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the two longest-tenured players who have big voices in the organization, also do not know if Kuminga will return to Golden State or play elsewhere.
Yet they sent their well wishes to their young teammate in an ominous sign of what is expected to be a roller-coaster summer for the 22-year-old Kuminga.
Getty Draymond Green (left) speaks to Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors on the bench.
“Obviously, JK has got the contract situation,” Green said after the Warriors’ season ended in a Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. “Always wishing him the best with that. I’ve been in that situation. Whether it’s here or elsewhere, I just wish him the best.”
Green is Kuminga’s biggest supporter on the team.
Jonathan Kuminga Has ‘Grown a Lot’
According to The Athletic, the Warriors are expected to extend his $7.9 million qualifying offer, which will make him a restricted free agent in July. Such a move will give the Warriors the rights to match any offer sheet that the former No. 7 pick might receive from another team.
“He’s grown a lot,” Curry said of Kuminga during his end-of-season press conference. “He’s been dealt a very tough hand, to be honest, like came in when we started 18 and whatever, two that year. And you know, he had some moments getting in the playoffs, didn’t really have an opportunity, and we won a championship, and then we ran it back.
“He’s handled his business in terms of just getting better and just trying to focus on what it means to become a better version of himself in the way that he plays.”
Kuminga entered his fourth year with the Warriors with a big chip on his shoulder after his extension talks with the Warriors ended in a stalemate last year.
The 6-foot-7 Congolese forward made a major leap, becoming the Warriors’ second-leading scorer behind Curry until a significant ankle sprain in January cost him 32 games. And when he returned, his spot already belonged to Jimmy Butler, the Warriors’ prized trade deadline acquisition who transformed them from a fringe play-in team to a legitimate contender.
Steph Curry’s Hope for Jonathan Kuminga
Getty Stephen Curry congratulates Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors during their game against the Boston Celtics at Chase Center on December 19, 2023 in San Francisco, California.
After his uneven performance in his return, Kuminga was removed from the rotation in the most important time of the season for the Warriors, only to re-emerge again when injuries to Jimmy Butler in the first round against the Houston Rockets and Curry in the second round against the Timberwolves forced Steve Kerr’s hand.
“That’s tough for any player, let alone a young guy who’s trying to figure it out in the league. So I commend him on just staying ready,” Curry told reporters. “See what he did in the last couple of games. That’s not easy to do to not knowing if your number’s gonna be called, and then go out there and perform.”
In the final four games of the series that Curry missed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, Kuminga averaged 24.3 points on 55.4% overall shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line.
“So I’m proud of the way that he’s handled it,” Curry said. “The hope is that the future is bright for him, whether it’s here or wherever, and knowing that he’s a guy in this league that can can continue to climb that ladder on his own pace. So I think he’s going through a lot that most people haven’t in four years and he’s seen a lot, so hopefully he’s better because of it.
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