As the Golden State Warriors' offseason has worn on, their reported hand-shake agreements with numerous free agents, including veteran center Al Horford, have been put on hold as a result of the lingering Jonathan Kuminga situation.
Yet, with the recent news that the Kuminga stand-off will likely continue as a result of the front office's unwillingness to trade the dynamic young forward, Horford's arrival to The Bay could be delayed and even possible negated entirely.
As Horford contemplates his options, among which is certainly retirement, Golden State must act as quickly as possible in order to land their prime target.
Warriors' Al Horford signing could become more complicated than expected because of Jonathan Kuminga
With the Warriors attempting to bring an end to their stand-off with Kuminga, the impasse has become stronger than ever.
Although the two teams have come relatively close on a monetary figure, with Kuminga coming down from his initially unrealistic $30 million annual value demands, there is still considerable disagreement regarding the two parties' leverage within the framework of the deal.
While the Warriors want a two-year deal with a team option and a waiving of the no-trade clause that typically comes with one year bird rights contracts, Kuminga's party wants to maintain his leverage as long as possible until he hits unrestricted free agency.
Therefore, with the news that Golden State likely will not entertain the Sacramento Kings' intensifying trade pursuits, it appears that the two sides are right back at square one over a month into the offseason.
Now, Horford, 39, has a major decision to make. It is extremely likely that, once the Kuminga situation is resolved, the Warriors will have the cap space remaining to sign him. Yet, does Horford continue to bet on that?
As free agency opened, numerous teams were rumored to have interest in Horford, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks. Although many of these teams have starting centers already, the prospect of a guaranteed spot on an NBA roster could be enticing to Horford as Golden State dawdles.
Moreover, after a lengthy and successful career, and a ten-year tenure with the Boston Celtics, Horford could certainly be considering retirement as a real option rather than moving to an entirely new franchise this late in his career.
Therefore, the longer the Warriors take to resolve their Kuminga situation, the more uncertain their signing of Horford becomes.