The Golden State Warriors, after months of being held stagnant in free agency by their unresolved negotiations with young forward Jonathan Kuminga, have now officially upped their offer to three years and $75.2 million.
Most importantly, however, the proposed framework includes roughly $48 million of guaranteed salary, given the team option after the second year, and, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer, this should be enough to meet the demands that Kuminga's representation has made since the start of the offseason.
Therefore, although it appears as though the Warriors will ultimately be unwilling to renege on their demand for a team option to be included in the deal, it is highly likely that Kuminga will ultimately accept this new offer with an acknowledgement of having given up future leverage for a concrete payday now.
The Warriors' new offer to Jonathan Kuminga meets more of his demands
As the offseason has progressed, neither Kuminga nor Golden State's front office have necessarily come close to an agreement on what the ultimate framework of a contract should be. Almost everything conceivable has been thrown out. A long-term deal, a short-term, high money deal, the qualifying offer, and even a one-year deal slightly above the qualifying offer have been on the table at some point..
Yet, according to Fischer, this new offer could possibly be enough to finally get it done: "[Kuminga wanted to get] that two-year, $45 million deal all guaranteed and moved up, around a $50 million threshold... that would have been enough for Jonathan Kuminga's side to really strongly consider taking Golden State's offer."
Therefore, while circumstances throughout the offseason have changed slightly, Fischer has made it clear that, were the Warriors to have removed the team option from their original two-year offer, it is highly likely that Kuminga would have signed it.
Now, as Golden State essentially offers double the guaranteed money of that initial deal, Kuminga must compromise on his insistence upon a player option in order to secure a sizable payday now.
Moreover, the annual value on this increased offer pretty closely matches the four-year, $100 million deal that restricted free agent Josh Giddey signed with the Chicago Bulls this offseason. This should, as far as it is a representation of his league-wide value, appease Kuminga.
Therefore, while the decision may drag out another week (or even two), it is reasonable to expect that Kuminga will take this deal and allow the Warriors to move on to their other pressing needs this offseason.