The Golden State Warriors still hope to retain Jonathan Kuminga as his restricted free agency drags on, but it also appears growingly apparent that the young forward would like a fresh start elsewhere.
ESPN's Anthony Slater reported on Thursday that Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Warriors made a concerted effort in trying to sign Kuminga this week, only for offers to be rejected by the 22-year-old and his camp who are still exploring sign-and-trade opportunities.
If Kuminga doesn't want to sign any of Golden State's current multi-year offers, and if the franchise doesn't see anything of value in a sign-and-trade, then there is a shock third option that the former seventh overall pick could pursue.
Jonathan Kuminga could shockingly take the qualifying offer
The Warriors had to present a one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer to make Kuminga a restricted free agent in the first place. Usually these are just a mere formal piece of the process and are never signed, but it may actually become a huge factor in these current negotiations.
Signing the qualifying offer would give Kuminga a no-trade clause and allow him to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, something he and his camp are "legitimately considering" according to Slater.
"If he goes that route, Kuminga would be willingly giving up a chunk of immediate money but would return on an expiring deal with an inherent no-trade clause, giving him the most level of long-term career control he's ever had. It's something his side is legitimately considering, sources said." - Slater
Whether it is an actual possibility or simply a leverage play remains to be seen. Kuminga and his camp could theoretically use the threat of signing the qualifying offer and hope that the Warriors accept a less than desirable sign-and-trade offer from a team he wishes to join, with the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings most prominently linked as potential destinations.
The idea of having a disgruntled player who could just leave for nothing in 12 months would be a real sting to the franchise, particularly when you consider the countless times Golden State could have traded Kuminga for real value over the last four years.
However, signing the qualifying offer also presents enormous risk to Kuminga to the point where the Warriors may not simply believe in that threat. As much as Kuminga could make things difficult next season, so too could the team in impacting his hopes of getting a large new contract from a rival team in free agency.
No team seemingly around the league wants to offer $25-30 million per year right now, and why would that change after another year in which the Warriors could just give Kuminga a limited role or bench him entirely?
Signing the qualifying offer would be a nightmare solution for both parties, making it a real shock if that's the path that Kuminga and his camp do ultimately go down.