There's a distinct difference between what Jonathan Kuminga wants for his basketball career, and what the Golden State Warriors need him to be as a supporting piece to Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
That problem has been evident for a long period and spoken about profusely since the Warriors' season ended, most recently by Anthony Slater of The Athletic in a detailed report on Thursday.
All signs continue to point to the restricted free agent departing Golden State this offseason via a sign-and-trade, but as Slater points out, there's cap restraints which means the problem facing Kuminga and the franchise may need to be pushed back to next season.
The Warriors may not get what they want in a sign-and-trade
Slater (and this article) outline how the Warriors can only take back 50% of Kuminga's outgoing salary. E.g. $15 million for a $30 million contract. They could take back more but would be hard-capped at the first tax apron, placing them in a bind of what they should do after Kuminga made a big statement and demonstrated his immense talent towards the end of Golden State's playoff campaign.
There remains a chance that the Warriors may need to kick the can down the road. They may acknowledge that Kuminga isn't the right fit for them, but that the sign-and-trade constraints won't bring back a player of enough value given his potential.
Instead of executing a sign-and-trade this summer, Golden State could sign Kuminga to a new contract with both parties acknowledging that the market may be explored again next season.
"Once Kuminga is trade-eligible again next December, his full salary would count for matching purposes, loosening up some of the handcuffs — while also making negotiations about his starting salary number more nuanced," Slater wrote.
This carries inherent risk, starting with being a marriage of convenience rather than desire which isn't overly conducive to a team trying to win a championship. If Kuminga comes out firing next season and suddenly fits next to the Curry-Butler-Green trio, then that's great and you can probably forget about a trade possibility.
But what if he doesn't? What if he struggles, the fit remains problematic, and the Warriors get off to a slow start as a result? Why would opposing teams be ready to help Golden State out by taking a $25 million player off their books? It's not difficult to envisage the franchise being stuck with Kuminga's contract, and therefore actually having to give up assets in order to move off him.
It would leave the Warriors with a delicate situation to start next season -- they'll have one eye on winning, and one eye on keeping Kuminga's value high enough to retain rival interest for when he becomes trade eligible.
As risky as this sounds, it may be a bold move they need to make if they can't orchestrate a desirable sign-and-trade scenario over the next month or so.