The Golden State Warriors and restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga’s stalemate may not end anytime soon.
Indeed, the 2021 No. 7 pick is “continuing to decline their two-year, $45 million contract offer,” according to ESPN senior insider Shams Charania. This is primarily because of the Warriors’ “insistence on having a team option for the second season and their unwillingness to let him maintain the built-in no-trade clause.” To that point, Kuminga doesn’t want to give “too much control to a franchise he believes has stunted and strung his career along.”
With that in mind, he views Kerr “as someone who has made it clear there is not a defined big-minute opportunity for him every night with the Warriors.”
Explaining Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga’s RFA Stalemate
Kuminga’s representation has approached Golden State with “a three-year deal worth around $82 million that allowed the Warriors to stay below the second apron to use the taxpayer midlevel exception.” This would obviously give him a bump in salary and an extra year of security. However, it would also keep him under team control for an additional year.
As it turns out, Golden State has “begun signaling a plan to cut off sign-and-trade conversations entirely… Their current stance is that Kuminga will be on the Warriors’ roster to begin next season — either through their two-year offer on the table or the standing $7.9 million one-year qualifying offer, whichever is Kuminga’s preferred path.”
This strong arm tactic isn’t devoid of benefit for Kuminga.
In the Warriors’ view, they “believe they have the best offer on the table for Kuminga because of the highest starting salary ($21.7 million next season compared to $19.8 million elsewhere).” He would be their fourth-highest paid player, the optics perhaps assuaging his feeling of being undervalued. Additionally, their offer “is purposefully structured to be tradable come Jan. 15… it would allow his next team to decline the team option and extend him.”
Right Player, Wrong Team?
It isn’t unusual for a player who was drafted in the top-10 to fail to make the right mark with his first team. Even if they don’t descend into bust territory, they can fall below expectations just by being the wrong fit. Such is the case for Kuminga, whose skillset has left him looking like a square peg in a round hole. A downhill scorer with tunnel vision and jump shooting limitations, he simply doesn’t click well with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s offensive philosophy.
Yet, if looking at Kuminga outside the context of how he looks in Golden State’s system, he’s a much more attractive player.
Jonathan Kuminga vs Phoenix Suns on December 28th, 2024:
34 POINTS (Career-High)
9 Rebounds
3 Assists
1 Steal12-20 FG
2-5 3PT pic.twitter.com/uKmF6MbVZe— mo
(@easymoneyyMo) July 18, 2025
At 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, he’s a well-built and athletic combo forward that’s hard to stop when he gets going. Though he can play off of others, he’s more than capable of handling the ball to get his own. His blend of size, explosiveness, ball-handling and finishing ability only makes him more of a threat when his jumper is falling.
Of course, the glaring issue is his passing. Frankly, he won’t be a primary facilitator anytime soon. However, his issues are probably more about mentality than dexterity. He’s capable of making a number of nifty passes, he just believes he can get the bucket himself. As he matures, he should continue to improve at this area, so it’s important to remember that he’s a 22-year-old.
This all plays out on the defense end as well. Kuminga’s physical tools allow him to match up well within even star forwards. Yet, he can be slow to react when he needs to rotate. With more reps, he has and should improve.
A Worthy Gamble?
The questions about his current and potential have much to do with his basketball IQ. That will effect him with any team. Still, there’s reason to believe that he could excel with either the Phoenix Suns or Sacramento Kings. For starters, he’s more likely to start for those teams. More importantly, their offensive systems won’t require him to be a prolific shooter or passer.
Only A Matter Of Time
Right now, the Warriors are seemingly determined to start 2025-26 Kuminga. Yet, they designed his contract in a way for it to be traded just three months after the season begins. As a result, he could be wearing one of those jerseys before All-Star Weekend.
With that in mind, Kuminga “prefers the longer-term offers presented by the Kings and Suns because he believes they signify a fresh start, a larger guaranteed role, a promised starting position and a greater level of respect and career control, shown in part through the player option… Phoenix’s proposal is also nearly $70 million more guaranteed than the Warriors’ offer.”
© D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
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