The Golden State Warriors just (finally) signed Al Horford, and now, it’s never been clearer that they have to figure out the Jonathan Kuminga situation. It’s an issue that has plagued them all summer, and now, they only have a couple of days left to figure it out before the season begins.
As Keith Smith of Spotrac noted on Twitter, the deadline for Kuminga to sign the qualifying offer with Golden State is October 1. Plus, Smith also pointed out that the phrasing of Horford’s deal with the Warriors is odd. Shams Charania of ESPN mentioned that it is a multi-year deal, but the lack of specifics indicates that the Kuminga contract likely still hasn’t been ironed out.
And that’s not great.
What’s going on with Jonathan Kuminga?
All summer long, Kuminga and the Warriors have been unable to come to a resolution regarding his current contract situation, and he’s one of a few restricted free agents who went through battles with their teams.
Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls came to an agreement on a new deal. Cam Thomas ended up signing the qualifying offer with the Brooklyn Nets. Quentin Grimes and the Philadelphia 76ers are still negotiating, much like Kuminga and the Warriors.
There have been plenty of rumors regarding potential sign-and-trade scenarios that would land Kuminga with a new team, but nothing has come to fruition.
The Sacramento Kings were (and maybe still are) very interested in bringing Kuminga on board, but the Warriors have reportedly rebuffed all of their offers. Even when Sacramento supposedly tried to send them Malik Monk and a first-round pick, the Warriors said no.
On top of that, the Phoenix Suns were rumored to be interested, but again, the Warriors weren’t a fan of any of the trades they had to offer.
Now, with just a couple of days left until training camp begins, the deadline for the Warriors to resolve the Kuminga situation looms larger than ever.
Golden State had to make the Horford signing happen so he could be in town for the beginning of camp, though it seemed as though they were trying to wait until they figured out what to do with Kuminga.
They lost that luxury. They had to sign Horford. Yet Kuminga still isn’t on the roster, nor have they found a trade for him.
That move has to be next. It had to have happened already. But they still need to figure it out.