The stalemate between the Golden State Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga continues to draw out. You’re tired of reading about it. I’m tired of writing about it. And all of us are tired of the fact that, seven weeks in, we’ve only been given the tiniest, stalest, blandest bread crumbs, with the standard rumors, reports, and drama almost entirely absent.
But the latest nugget of information, while just a tiny morsel, gives us some important information. On Friday’s episode of NBA Today, ESPN’s Anthony Slater
reported that there’s been “renewed conversations between the two sides,” though he tempered expectations as to how much momentum has been gained. That’s not the important bit of the report, though. Slater went on to reveal the crucial nugget, saying, “Kuminga wants more of a player-friendly deal, more of a signal that he’s a building block, not just a trade asset” while adding that he’d be “interested” in a three-year deal or a contract with a player option.
Kuminga’s free agency has been unique in that it’s never really felt centered on finances, which is a rarity in professional sports. Instead, Kuminga has seemed fully focused on situation. When it became clear that he was considering rejecting the Warriors two-year, $45 million offer (which included a team option) in favor of the one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer, it seemed logical to draw the conclusion that he was in search of any way possible out of the Bay Area.
But Slater’s reporting appears to refute that, with the insider saying that Kuminga isn’t interested in a short-term deal in which he’d be a “pawn,” existing just to be traded — but that he would be interested in a contract that sets him up to be a fundamental part of the Warriors going forward. Given some of the rumors of unrest, and the fact that Kuminga is only a year-and-a-half removed from making it clear that he wanted to be traded due to a lack of trust in Steve Kerr, that’s a significant bit of information.
And so with that, a path towards a middle ground has firmly emerged. It’s always felt like the possible resolutions to this offseason were Kuminga getting traded, or Kuminga returning on a deal that sets him up to get traded. And it very well may be that one of those situations occurs. But the door is now firmly open for a more copacetic verdict. Kuminga has enough talent, and is still young enough, that he can serve as a bridge between the current core of contendership, and the post-Steph Curry era of Warriors basketball. And given that Golden State doesn’t have many avenues for adding talent with Curry’s, Draymond Green’s, and Jimmy Butler III’s contracts on the books, betting on the fit working out with Kuminga is probably the best option they have.
It could be that Kuminga is still asking for a contract that is simply well outside where the Warriors value him, in which case they’ll have no choice but hold firm in their negotiations, and let the cards fall as they will. But if Kuminga accepts the qualifying offer, then he’s all but guaranteeing that the upcoming season is his final one wearing a Warriors jersey. And if the Dubs convince him to sign a team-friendly deal, it seems assured that he’ll be gone in either February or July.
A middle ground exists where Kuminga can be valued as a critical part of the team — maybe not quite in the inner circle with Curry, Green, and Butler, but on the edges of it, right there with Brandin Podziemski. They might not be able to find that middle ground together, but it sure would be nice if they do.
