SAN FRANCISCO – With the NBA draft in the rearview mirror, the entire Warriors offseason orbits around one, solitary question.
What will happen with Jonathan Kuminga?
The talented but inconsistent 22-year-old forward has tantalized the Warriors with his athleticism and scoring, and frustrated with his mental lapses and on-court gaffes, for four seasons since being the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft.
The Warriors did not sign Kuminga to an extension last offseason, with the forward reportedly declining a 5-year, $150 million deal.
After a hot start to the season, Kuminga missed 31 games with a severe ankle injury. Once he returned, Kuminga struggled to find playing time in lineups featuring the newly-added Jimmy Butler.
“I did it here and there, but it was never a consistent role, a consistent role given to me,” Kuminga told The Athletic. “It only happens five games on, 10 games off. I want it to be a consistent role. Because I know what I got. I know what I could bring.”
After being a healthy scratch to end the regular season, and during a few first-round playoff games vs. Houston, he scored 18, 30, 23 and 26 points in the final four games of the Minnesota series after Curry went down with a hamstring injury.
Now, assuming Kuminga signs the $10 million qualifying offer on Sunday, he will enter restricted free agency. The Kings and Heat are reported to have interest in the 6-foot-9 wing.
However, if another team offers a contract to Kuminga, the Warriors have an opportunity to match the deal, or negotiate a sign-and-trade.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0), bottom, and Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) reach for the ball during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)Regardless of whether he remains in the Bay Area or goes elsewhere, Kuminga has made it clear he craves a featured role in a team’s offense.
“I feel like I’m at the point where that has to be my priority, to just be one of the guys a team relies on,” Kuminga told The Athletic. “Aiming to be an All-Star. Multiple times. Aiming to be great. … Wherever I’m going to be at, it don’t matter if it’s the Warriors or if it’s anywhere else, it’s something I want.”
There is no deadline for the Warriors to make their decision on Kuminga, but if a decision is not made quickly, then the rest of the free agency pool could dry up during their inaction.
“I think for both sides, we’d like to get something figured out as soon as possible,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said during Thursday’s press conference. “But that’s the way it goes with restricted free agency. So you’re not going to stress about it too much.”
Golden State has $139 million in salary committed to Steph Curry, Butler and Draymond Green next season, and with a salary cap of $154 million, going into the luxury tax is certain as the Warriors fill out their roster.
Getting into the first apron, which brings along its own set of restrictions when it comes to adding players, at $195.9 million is probable, especially if Kuminga resigns for at least $25 million a year.
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While that is an attractive option, the case for keeping Kuminga is also a straightforward one.
He is the only player on the roster who can use his athletic gifts to get to the rim with any sort of consistency, and he showed high-level one-on-one defensive chops against the Timberwolves.
And there is still a chance that Kuminga’s faith in his own abilities is well-founded, and that the young man is an All-Star in the waiting, someone who would give the post-Curry Warriors someone to build around.
But whether he wants to reach that potential with the only team he’s ever known, or with another franchise who is willing to give him a steady diet of shots and touches, is up to him.
“I think, ultimately, from his end, he’s the one who is a free agent who has to sign the contract,” Dunleavy said. “So by doing that, if that happens with us, that’s reflective of his desire to be here.”
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