As the Golden State Warriors enter their offseason, the primary question lingering around their front office is the matter of 22-year-old Jonathan Kuminga's restricted free agency.
While the young forward possesses dynamic scoring ability and exceptional athleticism, there is a split within the organization on whether he can genuinely fit into the team's system, and, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports, even those who want to keep Kuminga do not view him as a player who can lead the team to a championship.
On the Dubs Talk podcast, Poole said that "What seems pretty clear in talking to people is that, even the people who, I guess you can say are [Kuminga] backers with the Warriors, don't see him as a guy that's going to lead them to championships."
This honest appraisal of Kuminga's worth to the organization is hardly surprising, given the deficits in his game, but it does provide insight into why team management's decision this offseason regarding Kuminga continues to become more complex.
Jonathan Kuminga could not be a championship-level player
Kuminga, who was the Warriors' seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, has struggled to find his exact role with the team since his arrival to the organization.
While he has hoped to become a full-time starter and a player that the team turns to for scoring, head coach Steve Kerr, especially following the arrival of Jimmy Butler, has repeatedly forced Kuminga into a more defensive and rebounding-focused role.
While Kuminga has largely been a team player regarding this mismatch of expectations, his chance to cement his standing in the league, and perhaps find a better team to fulfill his hopes, has now arrived.
Kuminga will likely command a $25 million annual contract value on the open market, and, while he might be worth that figure based on his potential alone, Golden State will need to decide if they view him as being worth that contract within their system.
One important consideration they will keep in mind is what happens when their veteran core of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green ultimately retire. With only two years left on each of those players' contracts, Kuminga could be seen as an option to take over the team at that time.
In the playoffs, Kuminga showed his ability to score at a level that would allow him to do so, averaging 24.3 points in the four games against the Minnesota Timberwolves in which was absent.
Yet, the Warriors still lost all four of those games, and, although Kuminga was likely rusty and struggled to jump back into the rotation, his fit within the offense still seemed uncertain.
As the end of their veteran core's careers approaches, Golden State will need to begin developing a path back to contention, and, if they do not view Kuminga as an integral piece in that plan, they could certainly move on from him this offseason.