The Golden State Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga are stuck in a holding patten, though there has been some ongoing talks between the two sides according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater on Friday.
The current sticking point is the second year of a $45 million contract offer, with the Warriors wanting to retain their flexibility by having it as a team option while Kuminga wants to take control of his own future by having it as a player option.
The Warriors will have to give Jonathan Kuminga two-year guarantee
Kuminga’s position is understandable -- he doesn’t want to simply be viewed as a pawn for Golden State to trade once eligible mid-season. He wants to be viewed as a building block, which again is fair enough even if you don’t believe him in as such a player.
The Warriors’ only move here is to grant some leeway and guarantee the second-year of the contact -- no team option, no player option and no-trade clause. Doing so would avoid the disaster of Kuminga signing the $7.9 million qualifying offer, which according to Slater is very much on the cards for the young forward if Golden State don’t move from their current contract position.
The other option is to re-open sign-and-trade discussions that for now have been shut down according to Slater, yet getting something deemed as reasonable value from the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns or another rival seems further away than making an amendment to the contract they currently have presented.
If Golden State are hellbent on bringing Kuminga back next season, they have a duty to Steve Kerr and the veteran core to make sure it’s done in a way that doesn’t completely disrupt their championship aspirations from day one.
That’s going to be hard to achieve as it is given this elongated free agency process, but it’s going to be impossible if the 22-year-old is back on the qualifying offer where there will be even more discussion around his level of content in conjunction with his role and minutes under Steve Kerr.
The Warriors must at least try to prove that they view Kuminga as more than just a walking trade candidate, something they can really only start by doing if they’re willing to give a little ground in contract negotiations.
At this point it might not even be about the contract which would be far from disastrous, but more so about who is deemed the winner in a saga that’s become tiresome for Warrior fans and others around the league.