Jonathan Kuminga’s free agency is once again threatening to go all the way into September, and the Sacramento Kings are pouring more pain onto the former Golden State Warriors forward without actually doing anything at all.
The Kings were viewed as the biggest rival suitor for Kuminga last summer when he was a restricted free agent, only for the Warriors to reject their pursuit of a sign-and-trade. Now, the Kings defeaning silence in the Kuminga race says everything about the 23-year-old’s lack of value after the Atlanta Hawks declined his $24.3 million team option prior to free agency.
Kings deepen Jonathan Kuminga pain with lack of interest
Sacramento are a team that look to be going nowhere fast and are likely to continue their own pain over the next few years, yet seemingly aren’t willing to take a flyer on Kuminga despite his ongoing availability deep into free agency.
As the Third Apron’s Yossi Gozlan and Sam Quinn recently discussed, that’s a pretty glaring indictment on the contrast between how Kuminga and his camp view him, and how the rest of the league does.
"Do you find it notable that no bad team with the shots available that he would seemingly want are like looking at him for the mid-level? Is it a little conspicuous to you that Sacramento isn't doing this?," Quinn questioned.
"Yeah that is a huge red flag honestly that the Kings are not at all mentioned as a suitor," Gozlan responded.
It’s worth noting that the Kings did register some interest according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater at the start of the month, but only at the minimum which again is in stark contrast to 12 months ago when they tabled a three-year, $63 million deal to the young forward before he ultimately signed a two-year, $48.5 million contract (second-year team option) with the Warriors.
Jonathan Kuminga is better served signing with a playoff contender
Even if a minimum contract was still on the table from Sacramento, Kuminga may still be better served signing with a playoff contender like the Los Angeles Lakers or Minnesota Timberwolves who hold interest in the former seventh overall pick.
Even if he took a one-year prove it deal with the Kings and put up career-high stats, that’s no guarantee that rival front offices would trust in that production if it comes on a poor Sacramento team as expected.
That leaves Kuminga’s best outcome as signing a similarly small deal with the Lakers or Timberwolves, giving him an opportunity to play a big role and impact winning which would easily earn him a big payday next summer if successful.
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