The Golden State Warriors are stuck in a holding pattern that seems unlikely to break at any point in the immediate future. Jonathan Kuminga is a restricted free agent who's unwilling to put his future in Golden State's hands for any longer than it already has been, thus creating a high-profile stalemate.
For as ideal as it would be to maximize the return on a Kuminga sign-and-trade, the Warriors' best available option would be to cut ties and begin the immediate efforts to improve the current roster.
Kuminga and the Warriors have reached a crossroads that appears eerily reminiscent of the point of no return. The 22-year-old recently declined a two-year, $45 million contract offer that Golden State attempted to include a team option in.
In the aftermath of that colossal report, Eric Koreen of The Athletic put it as simply as can be: Kuminga doesn't want to return to the Warriors, and Golden State doesn't want him back.
"The Warriors don’t want Kuminga, and Kuminga doesn’t want to be in The Bay. Yet, the Warriors weren’t willing to forgo extending him a qualifying offer ($7.9 million for 2025-26), the mechanism that keeps him restricted instead of unrestricted. Thus far, Kuminga doesn’t want to accept it."
With this in mind, there's a simple path toward the Warriors instantly improving the outlook of their offseason and championship dreams: Part with Kuminga and begin to add pieces before it's too late.
It's time for the Warriors to move on from Jonathan Kuminga
Golden State clearly shouldn't accept any offer it receives, regardless of the quality. It must, however, prioritize other elements of the 2025 period of free agency, as the roster in its current state has proven too top-heavy to contend.
Perhaps there's a perfect world in which the Warriors' preferred free agents will wait until the Kuminga saga is resolved, but every day that passes chips away at the possibility that such a reality exists.
Perhaps patience will enable the Warriors to receive a superior return for Kuminga than what's currently being offered. The other side of that negotiation, however, is that Golden State could miss out on the free agents it's simultaneously prioritizing.
With August underway, it's fair to question how much longer those without a contract will be willing to wait before accepting offers from another team willing to provide similar money.
In that scenario, Golden State would effectively be placing its future in Kuminga's hands—an admittedly poetic twist of fate, all things considered. No matter what decision is ultimately made, that's a risky approach with a roster in need of multiple improvements.
More specifically, such an approach could sabotage or at least dampen their efforts to complete or maximize the value of the expected signing of Al Horford.
Rather than putting everything on hold and hoping that the rest of the NBA will wait patiently, the Warriors need to act with a blend of determination and poise under pressure. They can't accept just anything for Kuminga, but there are disaster scenarios that are inching closer to reality.
With this in mind, the Warriors must act with a sense of urgency to conclude the Kuminga saga and ensure that no further damage is done to their championship dreams.