A counteroffer by Jonathan Kuminga and his representatives has been rejected by the Golden State Warriors, continuing the restricted free agency standoff.
With the Warriors reportedly offering a three-year, $75.2 million deal and completely shutting down any potential of a player option, Kuminga, whose Golden State tenure has been polarizing, presented “alternatives.”
“One of the latest counters, sources said, came in the past week: One year on a negotiable number, presented as a souped-up version of the qualifying offer, getting Kuminga a financial bump (up from $8 million) and unrestricted free agency next summer while wiping away the inherent no-trade clause and allowing the Warriors to use him as an expiring contract at the deadline,” ESPN's Anthony Slater and Shams Charania wrote. “It would serve as a bridge deal that gives both sides the ability to examine another year together, but also a much more trade-friendly salary number as opposed to the qualifying offer, which has an Oct. 1 deadline. It is similar to a concept the Brooklyn Nets proposed to Cam Thomas.”
According to Charania and Slater, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. “declined the concept,” and principal owner Joe Lacob is “apparently” not a fan of it either.
The Warriors reportedly offered Kuminga a $75 million deal last week, which includes $48.3 million guaranteed in the first two years and a team option in the third.
ClutchPoints' NBA insider Brett Siegel reported earlier this month that Kuminga, who remains a restricted free agent, and the Warriors have been “far apart” in their negotiations for a new deal all summer.
Kuminga has been vocal about his displeasure with his inconsistent playing time and role in his four seasons with Golden State, which he has felt has underutilized him since drafting him seventh overall in 2021.
That has been made even more apparent this offseason, in which, according to Siegel, the Warriors have been unwilling to adjust their offer to Kuminga, and the 22-year-old “doesn't envision a future” with the team.
Since this is the first time Kuminga has had any sort of leverage, he has used it in hopes of either securing “a long-term deal in the $25 million to $30 million per year range,” per Siegel, or becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, when he could fetch the money and years he wants as a result of numerous teams vying for his services.
If a deal cannot be reached with Golden State, Kuminga can still sign his $7.9 million qualifying offer, which could result in the Warriors trading him before the February deadline. However, he would gain automatic veto powers, effectively controlling for and to whom he can be traded.
