In today’s Dub Hub:
- According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Warriors are hesitant to take in long-term money for Jonathan Kuminga in order to preserve cap space for 2027 free agency.
- ESPN’s Tim MacMahon says Steve Kerr ‘doesn’t want’ Jonathan Kuminga on the team.
- Free agent center Bismack Biyombo agrees to return to the Spurs on a one-year deal, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
More information has come out in the Jonathan Kuminga free agency saga. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Golden State Warriors are hesitant to take on long-term money in a potential sign-and-trade for the 22-year-old forward, as they want to preserve maximum flexibility for the summer of 2027 — when stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic could be available.
Monk’s current contract runs through the 2027-28 season, when he has a player option worth $21.5 million.
The length of his deal poses a similar problem to the one the Warriors have had in the negotiations with Kuminga, as they want to maintain maximum flexibility for that 2027 summer (as it stands, they only have Moody’s $13.4 million and Hield’s $10 million player option on the books by then). The Warriors, who are well aware that Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver’s Nikola Jokic both have player options for the 2027-28 season, are hardly alone on this star-hunting front. High-profile teams like the Lakers and Clippers have sent similar signals in recent months.
Amick notes that Malik Monk’s new contract, which runs through 2027-28, illustrates the challenge. The Warriors only have Moses Moody’s $13.4 million and Buddy Hield’s $10 million player option on the books that offseason, and they’re reluctant to add deals that would cut into that clean cap sheet.
Golden State’s approach as they enter the next era of their franchise has been deliberate. The big contracts for Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler all expire in 2027, positioning the franchise to reassess its direction at the same time elite free agents could hit the market. It’s a delicate balance between building around their current core and preparing for the next era, and it’s a big reason why negotiations with Kuminga remain so complicated.
For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Tuesday, September 16th:
Warriors News:
Some Warriors coaches reportedly didn’t prefer Jonathan Kuminga in 2021 draft | NBC Sports Bay Area
“A few” members of the Warriors’ coaching staff voiced a preference to draft eventual Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner instead of Kuminga, but Golden State owner Joe Lacob was the “driving force” behind selecting the Congolese forward, ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania reported, citing sources, in a piece published Monday. Wagner was drafted one pick later by Orlando with the No. 8 selection.
“Lacob has remained a staunch Kuminga supporter and vocal believer in his long-term future,” Slater and Charania wrote. “He voiced an unwillingness to include Kuminga in a proposed trade from Chicago for Alex Caruso a couple of seasons back, sources said, and was still glowing about Kuminga’s performance in May after he rose from out of Steve Kerr’s first-round rotation to the team’s leading scorer in the second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.”
Stephen Curry strolls down memory lane with new book ‘Shot Ready’ | NBA
Curry’s book “Shot Ready” was released this week and the immediate reviews are overwhelmingly positive; Amazon quickly had it ranked among its top 10 current best-sellers and atop its sports book charts.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on NBA Today: ‘Steve Kerr doesn’t want Kuminga’
NBA News:
Why voiding Kawhi Leonard’s contract would be a huge problem for the NBA | The Athletic
The penalties for circumvention are delineated in Article XIII, and one or two of them could be problematic for reasons I’ll get into in a minute. But here’s the menu Silver is working from:
Fine the Clippers up to $7.5 million
Fine Leonard up to $350,000
Forfeit Clippers draft picks
Suspend Ballmer or other Clipper personnel up to a year and fine them up to $1 million each
Void Leonard’s contract and prohibit him from re-signing with the Clippers
Require Leonard to return the money he received from Aspiration
Free agent center Bismack Biyombo agrees to a one-year deal with the Spurs
In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:
Warriors turned down Kuminga deal for veteran forward
How would O’Neale fit as a Warrior? O’Neale’s role is as a three-and-D forward who can stretch the floor and play both forward positions. He made 40.6% of his three-pointers last season on a healthy volume of 5.9 attempts per game. For his career, O’Neale has made 1.5 threes per game at a 38.5% clip — pretty solid! O’Neale was one of the best defenders on the Suns last year but that’s not a huge accomplishment on the NBA’s fourth-worst defense in terms of defensive rating.
Follow @unstoppablebaby on X for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.
