Golden State Warriors ‘Signaling’ They Expect Jonathan Kuminga to Be on Their Roster Next NBA Season
The Golden State Warriors are signaling that they expect Jonathan Kuminga to be on their roster next season, according to NBA insider Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The Warriors don’t want to trade Buddy Hield or Moses Moody in a sign-and-trade deal involving Kuminga.
Jonathan Kuminga wants to leave the Warriors. He doesn’t have a good relationship with head coach Steve Kerr and believes the franchise has stunted and strung his career along for four seasons.
However, Kuminga isn’t an unrestricted free agent, so he can’t just leave Golden State on his own volition. The 2022 NBA champion is a restricted free agent, meaning the Warriors control Kuminga’s future.
As a restricted free agent, Kuminga can either re-sign with Golden State, sign an offer sheet with a new team or play next season on a one-year qualifying offer and enter unrestricted free agency next offseason.
There are no teams with cap space left, so Kuminga can’t sign an offer sheet with anyone. The Warriors offered Kuminga a two-year, $45 million contract, but the talented swingman declined the offer because the contract had a team option in Year 2 and there was no built-in no-trade clause.
The Kings offered a three-year, $63 million deal to Kuminga, according to Amick. In the sign-and-trade proposal, the Warriors would have gotten Malik Monk and a 2030 first-round pick. No deal happened because Golden State wasn’t interested.
Kuminga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the Warriors last season in 47 games. He shot 45.4% from the floor, 30.5% from beyond the arc and 66.8% from the free-throw line.
The 22-year-old Kuminga was the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He enters next season with career averages of 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists with Golden State.
It appears Kuminga will play next season with the Warriors on a one-year qualifying offer and then hit unrestricted free agency next offseason. As an unrestricted free agent, Kuminga can leave Golden State and pick his next team.
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