As the Golden State Warriors have now dragged themselves through a month of the offseason, their contract stand-off with Jonathan Kuminga remains unresolved.
While there is still hope for an amiable resolution on both sides, the most likely outcome, which includes a short-term, tradeable deal for Kuminga, represents a disastrous scenario for the Warriors, decreasing Kuminga's trade value and leaving his fit on the team in question.
While Golden State's front office has made it clear they would like to bring Kuminga back, the most value he brings to the organization is through a trade, and it is possible that the team has missed their chance to maximize this value.
Kuminga on a short-term deal is less-than-ideal for the Warriors
Heading into the offseason, it was heavily rumored that the discrepancy between Kuminga's camp and the Warriors' front office on both his role and pay grade would lead to a sign-and-trade this offseason.
Such a deal would have likely netted Golden State a valuable return that could have bolstered their roster and helped fine-tune their rotation around Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry.
Instead, as the market has gone cold on restricted free agents this summer, the Warriors have been unable to find an adequate return for Kuminga, and, as far as it is publicly known, no team has been willing or able to meet their asking price of a young player and a first-round pick.
Therefore, as the stand-off drags on, it is becoming more likely that Kuminga's camp will be willing to sign a short-term, tradeable deal that will bring him back to Golden State and allow him to be moved closer to the trade deadline next season.
According to NBA Insider Jake Fischer, this currently stands as the most likely scenario, yet he notes that he "[thinks] it's going to be important for both sides that [Kuminga] is still active and eligible to be dealt once December 15th comes around."
This means that, even if the Warriors were able to bring Kuminga back, it would likely be for the purpose of trading him at a later date. However, by bringing him back while his fit on the roster remains questionable, Kuminga could certainly tank his trade value through continued disputes with the coaching staff.
In order to maximize his trade value, the coaching staff will need to give Kuminga heavy minutes, but is that something they are willing to do for such a significant chunk of the season?
In short, Golden State may have missed their chance to capitalize on Kuminga's playoff resurgence, and they must now hope and pray that Kuminga retains his trade value if they bring him back.