For years there was a debate surrounding the Golden State Warriors on whether head coach Steve Kerr was holding Jonathan Kuminga back from becoming the star player that his talent suggested.
Yet since then, outside some solid performances from Kuminga while with the Atlanta Hawks, Kerr has been proven right, and he quietly is again considering the young forward remains without a deal nearly two weeks into free agency.
Jonathan Kuminga's free agency proving Steve Kerr right again
The fact the Hawks declined Kuminga's $24.3 million team option for next season and willingly let him hit unrestricted free agency was an early indication of his value. That's only been solidified since, with the only reported contract offer to date being an underwhelming two-year, $20 million deal from the Los Angeles Lakers.
This isn't to mean Kuminga doesn't hold interest from various teams around the league. The Lakers have pitched to him the promise of a starting role alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and the recently acquired Walker Kessler, while the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers are also strong suitors for the former seventh overall pick. Even a return to the Hawks on a new deal hasn't been completely ruled out.
But the bottom line here is that no team is lining up to pay Kuminga the sort of big money that suggests they think Kerr is wrong, and that the 23-year-old can be more than a good role player in the right situation.
If the Lakers really wanted Kuminga and saw them as a big part of their future, they would have prioritized him with a bigger deal rather than pay the likes of Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukaleshivili and Collin Sexton earlier in free agency.
Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade still looks the most likely path
The only path to Kuminga getting more than the $10 million annual salary on offer from the Lakers is through a sign-and-trade, but that requires the Hawks to agree and so far, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, they have no interest in the remaining two years of Jared Vanderbilt's contract.
Kuminga's still young enough and talented enough to drastically change the perception, but the longer time goes on the more it appears Kerr's evaluation of him is the right one that's now spread across the NBA.
Kuminga played 278 games in nearly five seasons for the Warriors before being traded at February's mid-season deadline, along with veteran sharpshooter Buddy Hield, in exchange for former All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis.
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