Only two days remain before the Golden State Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga will end their long offseason holdout. Whether or not Kuminga accepts his qualifying offer, the direction things are trending in at this moment, or agrees to one of Golden State's long-term contract proposals is the major question at hand.
Whatever Kuminga decides, he will be on the Warriors' roster for the 2025-26 season, and the organization will lean on him in a major role. Although the 22-year-old potentially accepting his qualifying offer is not the best route for the future of the franchise, Kuminga still figures to be an essential weapon at the forward position.
As far as missing Media Day on Monday, Kuminga's absence obviously drew plenty of questions. Warriors superstar Stephen Curry was among those asked about the young forward's talents and situation, to which Golden State's leader made his stance on Kuminga clear.
“You have a guy who is trying to figure out his situation. Respect that process and it's going to play out,” Curry said of Kuminga's contract stalemate, via ClutchPoints Warriors report Kenzo Fukuda. “When he’s here, ready to work, we expect him to be locked in on doing what he needs to do to help us win.
“What we do as players and going out there and hooping — that's what it always boils down to no matter how you get there.”
Kuminga and his situation with the Warriors are no different than any other free-agent discussion every offseason. While Kuminga may be a restricted free agent, he is still attempting to maximize his standing in the league, no matter where he is playing.
Contract negotiations with the Warriors have been ongoing, and the two sides have reached a stalemate in recent weeks. Whereas the organization wants him to accept a deal with a team option in the final year, Kuminga and his camp have signaled they would only sign a long-term deal that contained a player option.
As his October 1 qualifying offer deadline approaches, the two sides continue to signal that no progress is being made on a long-term contract.
At this point, it is a matter of when Kuminga returns rather than if, especially since accepting his qualifying offer looks increasingly likely each day for Kuminga. That is why when Kuminga shows up at the Warriors facility for the new season, Curry is determined to make sure everyone is on the same page.
“He's going to get asked questions. You're asking questions. Everybody is going to ask questions about it, but what happens when I leave this microphone, go in the locker room, and players talk? That's going to be the make or break of how we move into the year with the right frame of mind,” Curry stated. “Me, Jimmy (Butler), Draymond (Green) have been around long enough to know how to separate the business of it to the basketball of it, and those are two totally different areas.
“Our job is to focus on the basketball part and not let it become something that gets in the way of how we approach every day.”
A decision will be reached between Kuminga and the Warriors on Wednesday, at which time the contract agreements with Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton can also be announced. Golden State announced that they had officially signed Gary Payton II and rookie Will Richard at Media Day on Monday.
