Jonathan Kuminga’s agent Aaron Turner made a recent appearance on ESPN’s The Hoop Collective. During that appearance, Turner talked about how Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors have been able to find common ground on a new contract. Turner said that Kuminga isn’t going to give the Warriors team-control over where he plays, because the player would like to pick his spot.
“There’s a lot of upside,” Turner said. “He wants to pick where he wants to go. So, the QO (signing the Qualifying Offer) is real for sure.”
Kuminga can sign his $7.9 million qualifying offer. That would put him under contract with the Warriors for next season, while Kuminga would have a full no-trade clause for that one season.
Turner understands that Golden State has apron and potential hard cap concerns that have them offering a lower salary than Kuminga would like. In exchange, Kuminga and his reps want player control on the back end of the contract.
“If they want to win now, if you want a guy that’s happy and treated fairly who is a big part of this team, we believe, moving forward, you give him the player option,” Turner said about his client’s contract desires. “You do lose a little of that trade value. But if it’s about the here and now, you give him that. You don’t get a perfect deal, but you get a pretty good deal, and he gets to feel respected about what he gets, and we all move on and worry about winning, helping Steph (Curry).”
Turner added that Kuminga knows that he’s not getting the same kind of long-term salary that recent peers have gotten. Because of that, Turner and Kuminga are insistent that they get a player option in a deal with Golden State. The Kuminga camp also knows that there will be teams with cap space in the 2026 offseason, and that the young forward has already drawn interest from the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns this offseason.
“Two years from now, if you want to keep him, you’ll have his Bird rights (on a deal with a player option). You treat him good, and you show him the plan, then maybe you keep him,” Turner said. “(Giving Kuminga a player option) is not perfect, but I don’t think anybody can get everything they really want. If you ask JK, he wants Jalen Green’s deal. He’s not getting that. He wants Jalen Johnson’s deal. You’re not getting that. If the Warriors, we feel like, pick the front end, if that number needs to be lower to stay under a second apron, (then it’s a) player option (on the final season). Or if it’s about really controlling the back end of the deal, move the number up, shake your roster up and you can have a team option. Or, the hybrid model, let him keep his no-trade clause.”