Subscribe
Follow Us
Despite obvious friction over the past few years, Jonathan Kuminga and Steve Kerr might be working together on the Golden State Warriors for a while longer.
Kuminga essentially made it known that he was unhappy with his role — or lack of a prominent one — on the Warriors during the 2023-24 season. And things improved in 2024-25, and then didn't, and then did again as Kerr desperately tried to find lineups that worked during an early-season hot streak, midseason collapse, post-trade deadline revival, and a playoff run in which Golden State suffered from injuries to Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry, as a brief illness for Kuminga.
This past season, Kuminga played 24.3 minutes per game, an 8% drop in playing time from 2023-24. He played 47 games, a career-low, which contributed to a career-low in starts (10), and he struggled being as efficient as he had been in years past, posting career-worst true shooting and effective field-goal numbers amid the highest usage-rate season of his four-year career.
Despite the usage rate rising and Kuminga seemingly finding a role at the end of the postseason — he played no less than 26 minutes in the final four games of the playoffs — it is clear he wants some consistency as he heads into a critical offseason in his career.
Article Continues Below
“That’s what’s been on my mind,” Kuminga told The Athletic's Anthony Slater. “Things take time, but 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. 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. I want to see what I could do. I know I got it. So I want to really see. I’ve never got that chance.”
He added that he has never had a “consistent role,” saying that “[i]t only happens five games on, 10 games off.”
As he has completed his fourth year in the NBA and he has not signed an extension, Kuminga will almost certainly be extended a $7.98 million qualifying offer by the Warriors, who are required to do so to retain his rights. Kuminga could decide to sign the offer, which would ensure he is an unrestricted free agent and free to sign anywhere next offseason.
The two sides, as has been the case for a while, could also finalize an extension this summer. If one or both parties are ready to part ways, Kuminga could either sign an offer sheet with another team, which would make the Warriors have to decide whether they want to match and keep him in San Francisco or let him walk for nothing. A sign-and-trade could be the best of both worlds in this scenario, allowing Kuminga to start anew while the Warriors receive something in return for his departure.
