The long-running Jonathan Kuminga free agency saga may be on the brink of coming to an end, much to the relief of Golden State Warriors fans who've had to patiently wait for their team to make a single free agency move.
There is still over two weeks until the October 1 deadline for Kuminga to decide on the $7.9 million qualifying offer, but there's now optimism that we won't have to wait that long for a resolution on the young forward's future.
Warriors fans have Bulls to thank for latest Jonathan Kuminga movement
Golden State fans can probably thank the Chicago Bulls if there is something forthcoming in the coming days, with ESPN's Anthony Slater reporting on Friday that Josh Giddey's new contract earlier in the week has played a role in more talks between the franchise and Kuminga's camp.
"There's been renewed efforts, genuine efforts this week to try and get it over the finish line. I think the Josh Giddey contract four years, $100 million provided a little bit of extra motivation for the talks," Slater said.
Some of the latest on the Jonathan Kuminga front as Warriors’ training camp draws closer pic.twitter.com/QMke3DBdDp
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) September 12, 2025
Giddey sat alongside Kuminga as the two biggest restricted free agents on the market, and seeing one of them sign was always going to hold the potential of proving a domino effect on what was otherwise a slow free agency period.
NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported on Friday that the Bulls had called Giddey with extra motivation to get a deal done this week, something the Warriors may now be doing with Kuminga especially as the threat of the qualifying offer looms.
Chicago may not be motivating Golden State just through the Giddey contract either. Despite giving the Australian point guard a new $100 million deal, the Bulls retain some flexibility to open up significant cap space next offseason.
Fischer reports that the Bulls are a team that could be a future landing spot for Kuminga after showing previous sign-and-trade interest earlier in free agency. That could especially become the case if the 22-year-old takes the qualifying offer and enters unrestricted free agency next offseason, something both sides are still looking to avoid but particularly the Warriors.
Fischer also stated that "we could finally see some movement on the Kuminga front next week." That would be extremely important for Golden State, allowing them to make their subsequent signings and begin to build chemistry before the official start of training camp.