Jonathan Kuminga's rise to stardom has come at a good time for the 21-year-old, with a mammoth new contract expected once the Golden State Warriors' forward becomes extension eligible in the offseason.
Kuminga is in the third of a four-year rookie deal, meaning the Warriors will have him for what forecasts as an incredibly team-friendly $7.6 million salary next season. But from there on, it's expected the franchise will have to pay up to retain their brightest young talent.
Jonathan Kuminga's recent ascension means he could garner in excess of $130 million on his next contract with the Golden State Warriors
While Kuminga wouldn't become a restricted free agent until 2025, Golden State can orchestrate an extension for him and fellow third-year lottery pick Moses Moody during the upcoming offseason.
Speaking on 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs last month, ESPN's Bobby Marks compared Kuminga to another young forward in evaluating what sort of money he could garner on his next contract.
"Probably what you're looking at in Minnesota with Jaden McDaniels. He got 5 for $131M. You're probably looking at $30M per year."Bobby Marks on Jonathan Kuminga
This isn't the first time Kuminga and McDaniels have been compared -- as soon as the Minnesota Timberwolves' forward got his extension back in October, that was immediately seen as a possible forecast to what the young Warrior could get.
At that point Kuminga had just recorded the second-most points in the league throughout the preseason, and while it took awhile for that to translate to the regular season, the former seventh overall pick has exploded over the past couple of months.
Kuminga has 13 20-point games over the last 22 games, having emerged as Golden State's second-best scorer behind Stephen Curry and as a candidate for the NBA's Most Improved Player of the Year.
It's set to be a big offseason for the Warriors who not only have decisions that can be made on Kuminga and Moody, but have Klay Thompson who's set to be a free agent, Chris Paul's non-guaranteed $30 million option, Kevon Looney's non-guaranteed deal, and a player option for Gary Payton II.
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