As the Golden State Warriors have trudged through the offseason, their contractual impasse with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga has held up all other moves they could have made this offseason, leaving the team to settle on handshake agreements with multiple free agents.
Yet, NBA Insider Jake Fischer, in the latest edition of The Stein Line newsletter, has said that the feeling around the league is that this stand-off could drag well into September, a terrible sign for a team attempting to bolster their roster in anticipation of a serious playoff run next season.
As the Warriors attempt to bring in veterans to shore up their roster around superstar Stephen Curry, any further delay could be dangerous for the team's offseason opportunities, and a delay until mid-to-late September could be utterly disastrous.
Jonathan Kuminga could hold the Warriors hostage until October
Heading into the offseason, every fan of Golden State knew that the process of contract negotiations with Kuminga's camp was not going to be easy. Throughout his career with the team, the young forward has made it known that he feels under-valued, and, given the fact that his restricted free agency is his first chance to utilize any leverage in his professional career, it could have been prettily easily assumed that this would become a lengthy stand-off.
Yet, the team, as a result, has been unable to sign any free agents, since they will not know what exceptions they possess until the Kuminga contract is signed.
This has left their reported hand-shake agreements with free agents such as De'Anthony Melton, Al Horford and Gary Payton II unresolved, and it has hampered their talks with any other free agents such as veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon.
Now, as Fischer has reported, "The sides thus remain locked into a staring contest that some well-placed observers believe could drag into September at this rate. Kuminga has until Oct. 1 to accept his $8 million qualifying offer for the 2025-26 season and bet on himself to capitalize once he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer."
Kuminga has virtually no incentive to make a decision until he nears the deadline to accept his qualifying offer, likely leaving the Warriors unable to sign free agents until close to a month before the season starts.
Moreover, Kuminga ultimately accepting his qualifying offer would possibly be the worst-case scenario for Golden State. Although they would have room to sign other free agents, they would likely lose Kuminga, their most tradeable asset, for nothing next offseason.
Therefore, the team has been put at a major disadvantage because of their poor handling of the Kuminga situation, and it only looks like this will continue to drag on well into the offseason.