The Golden State Warriors’ contract offer including a team option is the main deterrent for restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga has been presented both two and three-year offers worth over $20 million annually, but both deals have the final year as a team option. ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania reported the details.
Golden State’s initial offer to Kuminga was worth $45 million over two years. In being unable to get Kuminga to commit, a three-year, $75.2 million deal was presented. In both cases, the Warriors would determine if the final year gets activated. Kuminga and his representation believes an offer that includes a team option should be in the $30 million per year range.
There has been one fully guaranteed offer of three years, $54 million. Kuminga is believed to view that annual value as too low.
Kuminga’s representation presented the idea of a one-year balloon deal well above the qualifying offer. That would allow Kuminga to become an unrestricted free agent next summer and give the Warriors a more tradable salary. General manager Mike Dunleavy and owner Joe Lacob had no desire to consider that offer.
Golden State’s ability to give the qualifying offer will expire Oct. 1.
The Warriors currently have plans to sign at least two of Al Horford, De’Antony Melton, Gary Payton II and Seth Curry. All of these moves are on hold until Kuminga’s situation is sorted.
Warriors Shut Down Kuminga Sign-And-Trades
According to the report, Golden State was uninterested in sign-and-trades that involved a return of either Royce O’Neale and second-round draft pick compensation or Malik Monk and a first-round pick.
Monk could certainly be seen as surplus to Buddy Hield’s services but O’Neale would be a valuable 3-and-D rotation player.
Part of the equation here is Lacob being extremely high on Kuminga and has been since draft day. While members of the front office and coaching staff preferred Franz Wagner, Lacob was adamant about Kuminga.
He seems even further emboldened in his stance after Kuminga’s scoring binge against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs after Stephen Curry’s injury this past spring.
Over the course of these difficult negotiations, Lacob asked Kuminga if he even wanted to be in Golden State.
Kuminga’s response was simply, “Do you even want me here?”
