As the Golden State Warriors continue their offseason, their first priorit must be to find a resolution to their Jonathan Kuminga situation, either through a contract extension or a sign-and-trade.
However, Kuminga's expectations to be considered a potential star in the NBA have made a resolution difficult, and, according to Yahoo Sports' Senior NBA Analyst Kevin O'Connor, the young forward needs a reality check on his potential in order to resolve his contract situation.
Kuminga, who has spent four years with the Warriors, has shown flashes of offensive dynamism and has proven that he can be an effective scorer given the right situation. However, given the relative lack of interest around the league in acquiring him, he may need to return to Golden State to prove his worth one more time.
Could Kuminga return to the Warriors with a new mindset?
On the most recent episode of the KOC Show, host Kevin O'Connor remarked on the interest around the league concerning Kuminga relative to his expecatitons for himself, wondering if its possible that "[Kuminga] goes back to Golden State with a new mindset and embraces what Steve Kerr want him to be... Or is this just pure delusion [on Kuminga's part]?"
Kuminga, who averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists through 47 games last season before being sidelined down the stretch by head coach Steve Kerr, has publicly stated his star expectations for himself since his earliest days in the league.
Now, as a restricted free agent, Kuminga has the opportunity to seek out a new situation that could give him the opportunity to prove that potential. However, as the offseason has developed, very little serious interest from suitors has shown itself, displaying a league-wide lack of belief in this potential.
Various teams, such as the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns, have been rumored to be interested in Kuminga. Yet, only one confirmed offer has come in, and it was far below what the Warriors expect to receive for the young forward.
Even before the offseason, a team that was heavily rumored to have interest in Kuminga was the Brooklyn Nets, largely due to their excess cap space and financial flexibility. Yet, the Nets have not shown any interest in Kuminga as of yet.
If a team with no clear roster construction and unlimited space for Kuminga to grow is not interested, should Kuminga be reconsidering his expectations?
If he were to do so, and return to Golden State with the intention of cementing himself as the rebounding and bench scoring force that Kerr needs him to be, he could prove his value in a different way to both his own organization and others around the league.
Yet, it remains to be seen whether Kuminga would be willing to take a reduced role, and this situation could continue to drag on well into the offseason as a result.