And so we have an impasse.
It’s been a month since Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga reached free agency for the first time in his career. And for the bulk of that month, we simply haven’t had much information about what’s going on. It’s been a classic holding pattern: the Warriors want one thing, Kuminga wants another, and they’ve been searching for alternate solutions, primarily sign-and-trades.
But lately we’ve started to learn more about the specifics of the staring contest. And while money and role have always been two big factors, we’re now learning about a third element: control. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater (congrats to Slater for joining ESPN), Kuminga recently turned down a two-year, $45 million offer from the Warriors. That in and of itself isn’t surprising, but the reason why is: the Warriors offer included a team option for the second year and a lack of no-trade clause. Golden State was apparently unwilling to budge from that offer, while Kuminga was justifiably unwilling to take it.
According to Charania and Slater, Kuminga’s team presented the Warriors with a three-year, $82 million offer that would help the team stay under the second apron, thus ensuring that they maintain the ability to use the taxpayer mid-level exception. For now, it seems that price is too high for the Dubs … at least without some options in there.
We may find out if that sort of deal is actually too rich for the Warriors. The Phoenix Suns have apparently made a four-year, $90 million offer to Kuminga, though it would require a sign-and-trade, and thus Golden State’s cooperation. If someone offers Kuminga a contract like that straight up — which would be very difficult for teams given the cap ramifications — the Warriors would have the right to match it, as Kuminga is a restricted free agent.
Kuminga is openly willing to bet on himself, and it seems fair to guess that if the Warriors don’t up their offer, he’ll end up doing exactly that. It still seems like the most likely outcome is that Kuminga returns to the Warriors, but it’s looking more and more likely that it will be on terms that he’s not stoked about.