As the Golden State Warriors near the start of training camp, there still appears to be little to no movement on the Jonathan Kuminga front, meaning that it is highly unlikely that a deal is reached until the October 1 deadline for the young forward to take his qualifying offer.
Therefore, the recent resolution to both Cam Thomas’s and Josh Giddey’s restricted free agencies, with the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls respectively, becomes more and more frustrating as Kuminga continues to hold out, preventing the Warriors from finalizing their roster in what will be an all-important season for them.
Although Kuminga is certainly within his rights to wait as long as wants to return to Golden State, especially given the way the organization has approached negotiations, his unwillingness to move one way or the other could absolutely screw the Warriors as the season gets closer and closer.
Restricted free agency is coming to an end, but Jonathan Kuminga still hasn’t budged
As the offseason has dragged on, Kuminga and the front office have remained at an impasse regarding the terms of a potential two-year, $45 million contract that would allow the young forward to be dealt at some point this next season.
Although Kuminga came into the offseason seeking an annual value around $30 million, a cold market has made it clear that this would not be a possibility for Kuminga until he reaches unrestricted free agency.
Moreover, the Warriors attempts to facilitate a sign-and-trade for the young forward netted underwhelming results, with no teams being willing to offer the unprotected first-round pick that the Warriors desired to be included in such a deal.
Therefore, as Thomas has taken his qualifying offer and Giddey has compromised with his organization, signing a four-year, $88 million deal, Kuminga remains frustratingly in limbo.
At this point, either of these two options would be preferable to the state that Golden State is left in at the moment. While Kuminga taking the qualifying offer would be disastrous for the organization from a value perspective, forcing them to lose him in unrestricted free agency next offseason, it at least would allow for some sort of a resolution.
If Kuminga and the organization had come to a middling compromise on, say, a two-year, $24 million deal with a player option after the second year, they would be following the model that allowed Giddey to return to Chicago, and the team would have their financial outlook set more concretely for next season.
Now, however, the Warriors are left with six open roster spots and no power to fill them until Kuminga signs, which looks like it will not happen until training camp has already begun.
Therefore, as Golden State enters a highly important season as they attempt to maximize what is left of Stephen Curry’s career, the resolutions to both Thomas’s and Giddey’s restricted free agency make the lingering Kuminga situation even more frustrating.