As has been the case for nearly three months, the Golden State Warriors remain in a stalemate with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga now less than a week out from the October 1 deadline on the young forward's $7.9 million qualifying offer.
Last week the Warriors increased their contract offer to Kuminga but to no avail, while this week they've even revived sign-and-trade talks with the Sacramento Kings according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
There's been rejection at every turn either from Golden State or Kuminga's camp, but there's still a crystal clear move to be made that could end all of this drama based on the latest reporting from Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer.
Warriors just need to give Jonathan Kuminga a guaranteed two-year deal
The Warriors have two deals with Kuminga on the table -- the two-year, $45 million contract with a second-year team option that has caused much of the standstill this offseason, along with the new three-year, $75 million contract with a third-year team option that was presented last week.
While Kuminga's camp has rejected both at this stage, Fischer believes they would agree to a fully guaranteed contract without the team or player option that's been at the center of negotiations.
"If Golden State was willing to come back with a straight deal fully guaranteed no team option, I'm of the belief, from my conversations, that Kuminga would take that deal either in a two-year situation or a three-year situation," Fischer said on Thursday.
So if the Warriors are willing to give a three-year, $75 million contract with a third year team option, would it not make sense to also offer a straight fully guaranteed two-year deal at just under $50 million?
Such a deal would appease Kuminga's side according to Fischer, while it would allow Golden State to finally get the 22-year-old back on a contract at an annual salary they could then trade when eligible mid-season.
Perhaps just as crucially, it wouldn't impact the franchise's clear aspirations to retain flexibility for the 2027 offseason where the likes of multi-time MVP's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic project to be free agents.
If a fully guaranteed two-year deal is what ultimately gets this over the line, it should probably elicit a response asking why it couldn't be done sooner such is its simplicity. The Kuminga stalemate has meant the Warriors are yet to make a single free agent signing just 72 hours out from media day, with Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II and Seth Curry still waiting for their deals to be finalized.
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