With NBA training camps set to open at the end of the month, the Jonathan Kuminga free agency drama threatens to drag into that for the Golden State Warriors. At the forefront of the negotiations is Kuminga’s request for a player option in a new contract, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel. Another potential holdup for a new Jonathan Kuminga contract are comments made to him by Sacramento Kings assistant general manager BJ Armstrong, as per the ‘Steiny and Guru’ show on 95.7 The Game.
The comments from Armstrong came via Kuminga’s agent Aaron Turner, and signal why his camp is pushing hard for a player option in a new contract.
“The player option to him is super important. . .JK is clearly the guy that needs to sacrifice here for this to work. Okay, so that’s fine,” Turner said. “He’s passing up opportunities where they are saying, I mean, BJ Armstrong made a strong comment to JK like we want you to be you. We don’t want you to change a thing. Play your game. He can’t do that fully in Golden State.”
The Kings were one of the teams that originally reached out in free agency to the Warriors regarding a sign-and-trade for Jonathan Kuminga, but as Siegel reports, the Malik Monk and a protected first round draft pick offer was not acceptable to the Warriors. The organization has since shut down any sign-and-trade discussions.
While the drama has dragged late into the offseason, it seems a forgone conclusion that Kuminga will indeed be on the Warriors roster for the 2025-26 season. All that remains to be seen is how. The Warriors have since budged on their original two-year contract offer, and have present Kuminga’s camp with a three-year deal. The only holdup is the Warriors reportedly want a team option for that final year while Kuminga is pushing for a player option.
A player option would give Kuminga more control over his future. Kuminga had a strong postseason this past year when called into action. He appeared in eight playoff games, including one start, and averaged a playoff career-high 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists with splits of 48.4 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from the three-point line and 71 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
