Jonathan Kuminga's restricted free agency is handicapping the Golden State Warriors ability to make other moves right now, causing frustration among fans over the franchise's lack of activity across the past 10 days.
Kuminga's unresolved future is certainly causing some problems for the Warriors, and might have cost them an opportunity to even having the chance to target an ideal free agency option last week.
Guerschon Yabusele would have been a nice fit for the Warriors
After a near five-year absence from the NBA, Geurschon Yabusele's return to the league was one of the few positives for the Philadelphia 76ers this past season. In fact, it was too positive given it priced them out of re-signing the Frenchman unless they wanted to go deep into the tax and potentially over the dreaded second apron.
Yabusele is now headed to the New York Knicks on a two-year, $11.3 million contract, providing a rotation boost and extra depth to a squad that just reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 29-year-old could have helped fill a major void for the Warriors right now, with Zach Lowe of The Ringer critical of the team's lack of power forward options on the latest episode of his podcast.
“I guess Moses Moody is now a power forward, but the lack of any other power forward on the team is troubling to me. They have Jackson Davis and Post as backup centers...Gui Santos is still around. Maybe they'll sign somebody that I'm not thinking of. Like even a guy like Yabusele would have been awesome on this team," Lowe said.
My random thought of the day is that I feel that a severely underdiscussed missed opportunity for the Dubs was attempting to acquire Guerschon Yabusele.
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) July 10, 2025
The 6'8" forward averaged 27.1 minutes for the injury-ravaged 76ers last season, posting 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting an impressive 50.1% from the floor and 38% from 3-point range on nearly four attempts per game.
It's that 3-point shooting that has come along leaps and bounds since his first stint in the league with the Boston Celtics where he shot less than 33% across two seasons. It might have also been helpful now for a Warrior team still in need
Given Golden State are expected to use their non-taxpayer mid-level exception on veteran center Al Horford, perhaps they wouldn't have even had the finances to get into the Yabusele conversation anyway.
Having an earlier resolution on Kuminga's future would have provide some clarity on that, and potentially have given the Warriors a chance at Yabusele depending on what happens with the former seventh overall pick.
The Warriors are still left with a lack of power forward options on their roster right now, with the potential departure of Kuminga only worsening that if a sign-and-trade is forthcoming in the next week or so.