At this point of the offseason six weeks since the start of free agency, many Golden State Warriors fans just want a resolution on Jonathan Kuminga's future one way or the other.
Kuminga's restricted free agency has been a tiresome talking point for what now feels like forever, yet we're no closer to knowing whether the young forward will re-sign on a new contract, take the qualifying offer which would screw over himself and the franchise, or if there will be a sign-and-trade that lands him with the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns or another rival team.
Warriors urged to set deadline on Jonathan Kuminga decision
The frustration has reached a level where the Warriors have now been urged to set their own deadline on a Kuminga decision, allowing them to get on with their offseason and avoid the disaster of losing their expected free agent signings.
Warriors insider Tim Kawakami believes that Golden State should make the bold call of telling Kuminga that they're going to sign the free agents on a specific imminent date, and that he has until then to sign their current contract offer or it gets ripped off the table.
“...Tell Kuminga freaking next Monday, whatever that day is, you know, August 20th, whatever it is. That's when we're doing this. Tell us if we need to, you know, sign you for more money, we can't do that," Kawakami said on the latest episode the Warriors Plus Minus podcast.
Doing so would certainly bring the timeline forward, but it also presents a chance that the situation gets even worse. Perhaps it has the intended result of pressuring Kuminga into signing a two-year, $45 million deal with a second-year team option that doesn't have a no-trade clause.
But on the other hand, forcing Kuminga and his camp into a corner could infuriate them into taking the qualifying offer and ensure they take destiny into their own hands as an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
Signing the other free agents beforehand could also leave the Warriors vulnerable to the Brooklyn Nets setting up an offer sheet they simply couldn't match, but that would seem very unlikely particularly given their own restricted free agency situation with Cam Thomas.
From a fans perspective, this idea of setting an imminent deadline would assuredly please many. There would likely be a resolution on the Kuminga situation, while there would finally be the flurry of long expected moves in the signings of Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton and others.
Whether the Warriors are willing to apply another level of pressure to Kuminga remains to be seen, with a strong chance they'd rather not want to add anymore hostility to an already delicate situation.