When forward Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors failed to come to terms on a rookie scale extension last fall, Anthony Slater – working for The Athletic at the time – wrote that “it’s possible Kuminga would’ve accepted a contract below max value, but the Warriors never upped their offer (somewhere near the $30ish million per year range) into an appealing enough ballpark.”
A maximum-salary contract for Kuminga would’ve been worth roughly $43MM per season on a four-year deal or nearly $45MM on a five-year deal. While it’s clear that the Warriors weren’t willing to pay that price, agent Aaron Turner tweeted this week that Kuminga also never received or turned down an offer worth even $30MM annually.
Appearing on The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link) on Friday with new colleague Brian Windhorst, Slater – now employed by ESPN – essentially confirmed as much.
According to Slater, while the two sides had plenty of conversations about a new deal, the Warriors were hesitant to put a concrete offer on the table for Kuminga last fall because he would have been subject to the poison pill provision in 2024/25 if he had signed an extension and they wanted to keep their trade options open.
“I think Jalen Johnson getting five years, $150MM gave a target,” Slater said. “… I’m of the belief – and I’ve been told – that (Kuminga’s camp) would’ve taken five for $150MM if it was ever on the table. It wasn’t on the table.”
Nine months later, after an up-and-down season in which Kuminga was limited to 47 appearances and saw his numbers drop in several statistical categories, the consensus around the NBA is that the now-restricted-free-agent’s current value is well below $30MM per year.
Fred Katz of The Athletic polled 16 sources who work in rival front offices to ask them what they believe a “fair” contract for Kuminga would look like. Their answers, according to Katz, ranged from $17-25MM in average annual value, with Kuminga’s biggest fan in the group advocating for a five-year, $125MM deal.
The majority of the respondents, Katz writes, expressed that a three-year deal would make the most sense, with many of those rival staffers suggesting a third-year player option and a few of them likening Kuminga’s situation to that of Jalen Green in Houston. The former Rockets guard signed a three-year, $105MM rookie scale extension with a third-year player option last fall and was traded to Phoenix earlier this month just as that deal took effect.
“It feels like a Jalen Green-type deal that keeps him tradable,” one team official who suggested a three-year, $70MM contract told Katz. “Definitely less than he probably wants, but the player option gives him some options.”
“If I’m the agent, I’m trying to get a short-term deal so I can get out of there and get somewhere else but still make some money in the meantime,” another respondent said.
As Katz writes, it’s not out of the question that Kuminga would accept his $8MM qualifying offer, which would line him up to reach unrestricted free agency in 2026. But that would represent a risky path for both the 22-year-old and the Warriors, who could badly use a player earning a salary in the $15-25MM range for trade purposes. Currently, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green – who aren’t considered trade candidates – are the only Golden State players with cap hits exceeding $11.6MM in 2025/26.
“If he takes the qualifying offer, the Warriors are f—ed from a team-building standpoint, because they need to get him on a deal where they can trade him,” one executive said. “That’s the key for them.”
In case you missed it, we relayed several of the latest rumors on Kuminga’s restricted free agency in a pair of stories on Thursday.
So the market says your not a star, and fair value is either 5/118M or a 2+1 at 3/68M.
Nobody even came close to saying he is worth a max extension. Didn’t he turn down a 5 year deal worth over $100 million last year.
According to who? And who leaked such information and why? His agent and he are saying BS on that. You shove $30 mil per with today’s CBA infront of Kuminga and his agent would be all over it. ‘I suggest you sign this’
You’re being lied to. If GS were all in Kuminga, Horford, Melton, Seth would all be signed and the Owners wouldn’t give a crap about the tax implications. The owner doesn’t think they can win, therefore…..isn’t footing the tax bill. This was never a problem before. It’s also a new CBA which is much harsher.
So hear we are with a guy whose been stunted growth wise, yet shown flashed of a good player. And, the Warriors want a crazy return yet aren’t themselves willing to pay crazy money.
According to Kuminga himself said he turned multiple offers from GSW. last year he turned down a huge contract by the warriors because he wanted the max. Since that time the warriors picked up Butler. So the big money is used up. It was all over the sports radio last year that Kuminga told warriors max or no deal.
OK you aren’t following. Kuminga probably did receive an offer or two but that money and turned down….highly unlikely. Did you read the article? It’s of course, up to you to decide who to believe.
link to heavy.com
According to this. Warriors are not even at 25 mill.
Which only shows how dumb they are. 25 gets him to play. Then you move him in three months easily. And
No hmthey are not. He is not that good. Is he athletic? Yes, he is a jack of all trades. He has mastered nothing and is good at many things. As someone who played overseas for 4 and 1/2 years, if you have not mastered one skill you will just be in the middle of the pack. I think his mastered skill is his athleticism which over time as you get older. That’s the one skill that you can lose that will not help you as an older player. His jump shot is shaky his ability to get to the basket and make reads when double team team, as in his plate making ability is non-existent. I guarantee you if he goes somewhere else and tries to be the man is going to end up like Jordan Poole where he looks a lot better playing around Steph and a bunch of vets. Honestly his value is not more than 15 to 20 million a year and that’s just because he still has a little bit of upside left. Now I do think he needs to find a better home and play somewhere else because it’s times what the warrior has concluded. But as of right now he can’t help another NBA team out because his game isn’t suited for winning basketball. Hopefully he can develop it more and get to a spot where he’ll get some time on the court and grow his game
Nrg82 I think that’s pretty much it in a nutshell.
@ Gary…it’s not just Kuminga. Even teams who have cap space going forward are playing hard ball. Giddey, Cam Thomas. The Warriors cap does make things a little more complex with todays CBA. However, actions speak louder than words.
Yes, and it’s funny because all three players have limitations of some kind.
Another guy mentioned either today or the other day that you’ll notice the stars don’t reach restricted free agency.
The good teams lock up the good young players as soon as they’re available.
It’s the restricted free agents who have a couple of flaws, yet think they’re all that, who wind up in this tussle.
It’s funny I was watching a Josh Giddey workout video from this summer and one commenter noticed it enough that he said that,
“Josh plays defense with his eyes.”
The scenario was that Upon stumbling out to challenge a 3, Giddey had his hands down instead of up and challenging the shooter. Pretty funny.
Yeah Giddey isn’t good defensively, he’s not as athletic as most. Does have length though, so atleast applying himself shouldn’t be an issue. Needs to get smarter on that end. Go watch John Stockton. Not big, not overly quick. But, high IQ and knows the scouting report on individual players. I.e knows what teams are running and where and how guys get their buckets. I also believe these triple doubles in today’s game are a little misleading. Statisticians give assists quite freely today. Rebounding isn’t as contested as it use to be due to everyone trying to play quicker. Guys aren’t crashing hard like they use to. Lots of empty stats these days. Cam Thomas has never seen a shot he doesn’t like, double, triple teamed and all. I’ve got this, lols.
I could like Josh Giddey on the Warriors. They would help him straighten out his defense or at least effort on that end and then offensively he’s fantastic.
I’d do a straight up as I mentioned elsewhere for Giddey or Jalen Johnson or Jalen Green. Any one of those three for JK.
Great point on guys (and coaches) wanting to play quicker and get out on the break so rebounding isn’t as much of a grind underneath anymore.
Five quick buckets with fast players definitely offsets using two bruisers underneath to grab rebounds. Just one board man is enough and let the gazelle’s run. Wings are where it’s at today.
Giddey be good for Steph, he does want the same type money as kuminga though. Coby White is probably gettable. What then of Podz? My opinion is the Warriors best team is with keeping Kuminga while adding Horford and co. Steph, Jimmy, Kuminga, Drey and Al, albiet not young is quite formidable if all healthy. The other four guys are high IQ and fantastic passers. Kuminga could be a slashing beast with those guys.
Yes, on paper with those four guys, JK would be absolutely necessary, or someone like him.
A gazelle on the wing. Super athletic, but not necessarily great rebounders because they get buckets after receiving outlets at midcourt.
Now that you bring up the topic, thinking about the Warriors lineup next year and the guys they’re supposedly in agreement with, I would suggest 25-26 as the first season that Greymond comes off the bench and doesn’t start.
Unless there’s some kind of a miracle and Green hits 37, 38% of his threes in training camp, he has to be a guy who’s not included in the opening 5. Just my two cents. It’s time.
According to Joe Lacob and Dunleavey. More than once, IRC. They never said exactly what the amount was, but that Lacob said it was more than the first offer at $25M that Kuminga.
Lacob also said immediately after the Warriors traded for Butler that he expected to sign Kuminga to a big rookie extension that would take the Warriors over the 1st apron.
Yahoo Sports
https://sports.yahoo.com
Jonathan Kuminga’s agent calls Warriors’ $30 million rumors ‘fake news’
link to sports.yahoo.com
17 x 5 years is 85 million. Are we now doing alternative math as well? Don’t think warriors or Kuminga would commit to five more years at this point.
I love how it explicitly states that he’s never had an offer for $30 million, from two sources. People just create narratives they wish were true.
i did hear they offered him a 1 year plus a player option year where they keep his RFA status that he turned down. If somebody offered himn a $30 deal he would have taken it.
I said either a 2+1 at 68M or a 5 year at 118M total, not sure where your getting 17M from. The thinking would be you have to give him a higher AAV on a 5 year since if he pops your getting a bunch of undervalued seasons. So it would take a better AAV to convince him to do 5.
If he signs a 5 year deal thats at a reasonable rate it probably makes for the highest odds of him getting traded as soon as he can be. Like a team like CHO might want him on a 5 year deal where they know the terms up front. It would also give him a rate that lets you match real high level players salaries getting up near 35M with Moody.
5 yr $118m is win win for both Warriors and Kuminga. Kuminga gets his generational wealth and Warriors have a contract that is very tradable. Warriors need Kuminga’s aasurance that be will work hard and listen to the coaching staff while Kuminga wants assurance of trade. Warriors want to somehow salvage their asset.
Front-court version of Poole…
Once JK is gone, he will get his numbers and get paid. But….
Kuminga must take the QO & mess badly with GSW this year and leave for free next summer!
I understand its hard to be a featured player how the warriors are currently constructed but if kuminga played better defense he would play more. Nba is getting better and players who are limited on one side of the ball are hard to play in some situations. Currys age its understandable he’s not quite as good on the defensive end but also being a undersized team makes someone like kumina hard to use in a lot of lineups.
He is so bad at over helping and leaving shooters. Made all the worse because he is helping on a guy Draymond already has bottled. And I think the lack of rebounding comes from always wanting to be the guy dunking on the break so he never stays to rebound like he should. He is good on ball but is even still learning defensive reads even there.
I have seen him make some decent passes that the lack of shooters turned into not assists, but that should have been, so his court vision is improving.
If he knew what was good for him he would spend every waking moment working to improve his shooting on all types of action beyond the arc since you can make him work better defensively if he can space the floor so that other more defense first players can play with him.
Kuminga has been a good defender for stretches, but he stunk last year when being forced to play with GSW’s second stringers, again, that is Kerr’s fault. Kuminga should play PF next to Dray at SF.
Player Comparisons:
Early Comparisons: Early in his career, Kuminga received comparisons to players like Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
2. Today’s Trade Value Ranking:
One resource ranks Kuminga’s trade value at 12.90, which is 16th among power forwards
3.Warriors’ Expectations: The Warriors are reportedly seeking a first-round draft pick and a high-upside player in a potential sign-and-trade.
4. Specific Trade Offers:
Suns reportedly offered Grayson Allen, a package the Warriors deemed undesirable.
The Kings offered Devin Carter, Dario Saric, and a protected first-round pick, but Golden State is holding out for Keegan Murray
My comment
Kuming’s Equal Value = Murray and a top-5 protected First
Suns didn’t offer Allen because the warriors can not bring back more than $12.5 million in cap space on Kuminga. it was O’neal they offered. Kings did not offer a 1st in that deal it was 2 2nd round picks. Warriors had Saric and don’t want him. Carter is signed for multiple years and plays 0 offense so they need other players than kings cast offs.
I copied and pasted all of them from other sources.
If its sporting news or blueman those are fake rumor sites. Allen makes almost $20 million ayear so they couldn’t make the trade.
arc, don’t forget bleach report. Horrendous.
Bleacher report is hilarious.
Sillivan, at 6-6 how can he be compared to Giannis or Kawhi.., unless you’re Davey?
3. Yes, they can set the price as high as they want and if they don’t get it, they’ll keep him.
It’s not like he’s a horrible player. They just want MORE from him or his replacement.
Your comment. I think Keegan Murray has also shown a lot of potential but is inconsistent and had a uninspiring season last season.
Murray has better size and the potential to be a lot better shooter so at best it would be one for one.
King’s definitely don’t need to include a draft pick With Murray for Jonathan Kuminga.
agree 100%
Murray’s more reliable .. so adding a 1st ??
@ Mark….I’m not sure I’d want to trade Keegan for Kuminga straight up letalone attach a first. You?
It’s just so weird that GSW’s best lineup could be Horford/C, Kuminga, Green, Butler, Curry but Kerr refuses to ever play that lineup, and if he does and it struggles for 5 minutes due to bad shooting, he never uses it again.
I would much rather have Jalen Johnson or Jalen Green than Jonathan Kuminga !!!
You can’t give our guy that kind of money.., he’s half the player those two are.
Johnson is a young guy who can shoot it and developed his overall game after his first two years. The Hawks weren’t that strong but in any case he played over 30 minutes a night an average 10 rebounds and played pretty well.
Jalen Green I think started at shooting guard right off the bat. The man takes seven or eight threes a game and makes 35% consistently. That is a very good producer.
Jonathan Kuminga cannot be considered a good producer just yet.
He’s had four years and it’s still not happening.
Maybe he’s Jermaine O’Neill and it happens in year five or six?
That’s fine but maybe he needs a change of address like Jermaine O’Neill?
The warriors screwed this up and made a crappy draft pick and Jonathan Kuminga screwed this up by being headstrong and not improving his game.
Here we are. Let’s hope he gets traded to the right team and becomes the star many thought he’d be.
Everyone was surprised when they drafted Kuminga. I was wondering if it was because their other picks were taken before the 7th pick. i know Giddey was real high on their list to draft.
I do criticize Bob Myers quite a bit for the pick, but it could be that they were not thinking he’d be available at seven so they didn’t do the required due diligence on him?
Then when he became available, and even with their knowledge limited, they picked him.
I always thought BM was over rated. He did not draft very well. Inherited a great team and gifted Durant.
I believe he was preferred by a few of the players e.g. Draymond
Really why ???????
He was the right pick. Giddey went #6 cause Thunder needed a PG for their rebuilding.
link to nba.com
“He was the right pick?”
After everything we’ve all been writing, including you Al, these last three months and you’re going to say he was the right pick? LOL !!!!!!!
You are seriously a fan with quite a few interesting perspectives Al.
Yes, the team, kerr, kuminga they all scrwed up. Kuminga getting bad advice and taking things personally rather than business wise. Either way, Warriors are scrwed because theres major trust issue with Kuminga and now have sunken value.
…
Jul. 25, 2025, 3:58 PM CDT
And though nobody inside or outside the Warriors’ executive offices is predicting anything definitive about the Kuminga talks, I think there is some reasoned belief that the likeliest scenario is that Kuminga and the Warriors will eventually find a pathway to a two- or three-year deal to come back — and be set up for a trade either in the middle of next season or next offseason.
San Francisco Standard
— This probably is where you get the most value for him. It also means he will have to keep his value up in order to be traded. Means no messing with his PT. Or Kuminga getting pissed and not playing. Warriors would be taking a chance. Considering how they have handled Kuminga up to this point.
No way in Yell Kuminga is worth a max contract. Considering his career starts. I don’t see how he can even have those $$ numbers. Kuminga is not even worth 30 mill. Paying players on upside and talent should never be used for a max extension. It should be done on production and commitment. And if the Team believes in you like Thunder did their players. You pay the max. But if you don’t have the production and commitment. Then nobody is paying you the max. And your value should reflect that …
I think Jk would be a fool to take a QO
Take the 2+ 1 and you can be celebrating Xmas at a different locale w a nice bag – 3/70+ player option year 3 on a team that wants to put the ball in your hands obv
They’d prolly do the deal super early like the Dennis deal so they’d have time to aggregate new folk if need be by early Feb
So that’s about 23.3 million per year for three years?
I think with everything that’s gone down and the more it’s reported that JK is unhappy with the Warriors, that this number is no longer on the table.
I’d guess the new number is probably a flat 20 million and then your scenario, 2 + one. Total 60.
Jk’s camp wants more, understandable
They are hoping/praying a mystery team steps up with enough excitement to spin the wheels not only financially but scratching GSW’s back in the process and all under a super tight budgetary year in the NBA (I’m skeptical)
There’s no reason to cave yet if your JK’s camp, but a cave is what I do see in the end w a 2+1 over the QO direction
It sucks for everyone really, JK’s camp, the warriors , free agents pending, fans, ect ect
The Rfa process is messed up I’ll leave it at that
The 17 or 23 or even 25 M per year possibly on Jk probably isnt the biggest holdup here: its Jk’s camp waiting on a mystery possible savior to emerge and go bigger and beefer like a 5/125+ –
We all know he’s being traded in Decemeber and the way the Warriors currently sit its probably actually better for matching purposes at 23 than 17 AAV as you will lay in-between apron 1 and 2 all year regarldess
In the end I think we see the 2+ 1 round 70, Jk’s camp folds, no powerful suitor emerges, Dunveleavy fields calls over his Thanksgiving dinner in prep for Dec 15th
He can get 5 years and 8% bumps only with his original team.
If it’s sign&trade, he can get a 4 year deal, and 5% bumps max.
He would sign it with a guarantee that he would be traded.
“His agent Aaron Turner has held numerous discussions with Warriors officials in Las Vegas, league sources tell The Stein Line, with the hope of securing a contract — even a short-term contract — that pays at least $25 million in average annual salary … whether that’s to stay with the Warriors or switch teams via sign-and-trade,” Fischer wrote on “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter on July 17.
Now if this is true ——- it should be, considering thats why Kuminga went to LV. It means Warriors are not even offering 25 mill. Thats just DUMB abs …..
2 yrs PO and you trade him in season then move on.
link to heavy.com
That 25 has now been moved down to 20. Take it or leave it.
The Warriors have ears on the ground. Dunleavy‘s brother is a player agent. Warriors brass has connections all over the league and they talk.
If dubs are not offering him 25 it’s because they know no one else is !! lol.
Of course The reason is probably others CAN’T offer him 25, but the fact remains, no one is offering him 25.
Sooo, 20 mil take it or leave it.
Al, is this what you call, “a Warriors fan crying?”
Crying in over 1000 posts in last two yrs blaming Kuminga for all the world’s ills. I can pull them up for you. Even yours. Internet lol, it never goes away. No fan base has cried more lol.
Disputing or arguing stories with some form of proof. Is just a healthy debate. Don’t act like you never cried. All Warriors fans have. Even going back to playoffs. Imo Warriors fans are the biggest cry babies on here. Worse than Lakers fan. Of course now they are all hiding.
What has happened with Kuminga. Is all the Warriors doing. They knew they could use RFA against him now. With new CBA. No 20-22 yr old is smarter than a professional NBA Franchise. Even today with new facts. Warriors are not even offering 25 mill. It’s obvious they don’t care about Kuminga or their team. Cause they can blame all of it on him. They are the ones playing politics and using it against him. Thinking it will bring his value down.
They had years to get this right. Getting Jimmy and another shot at contention. Changed everything again. They are clueless and time is against them. Bringing down his value only hurts them. Cause he ain’t never going to play in GS.
Only one here crying is you Al the fake NBA fan. poor Kuminga he is being so mistreated by the warriors. Nobody is forcing him to take a contract. If he is so great he can take a chance on himself and do the 1 year deal and be a free agent next year. He couldn’t replace Curry when he went out in the playoffs. That is why Curry is a star and Kuminga is not at this time. Why couldn’t Kuminga carry the warriors past the T-wolves if he is a top player in the league? Stop crying that the warriors are so mean to Kuminga.
Even the lies you write. Are apologizing for the crying. Like defending it. WTf would I care about Kuminga. Not family not an acquaintance. Means nothing to me. arc you and Warriors fans have cried over refs. Over calls being called. Over refs allowing opposing players play a certain way. Nobody in here cries more than Warriors fans ….. that simple.
Dude you comparing him to Curry. Thats really intelligent. And more crying lol 😂
You cry more than DaveyJ and he is a lost soul. Why are you here still defending the Warriors and talking down Kuminga. Don’t you understand you need value for him. Makes no sense blaming him now or talking down his value. Bro you are crying in this post still. You don’t even realize it lol ….
You can’t reason with these anti Kuminga commenters because their stance has no reason. They talk out both sides of their mouth. They say that Kuminga isn’t worthy of guaranteeing a starter’s job or meaningful minutes in the playoffs and isn’t worth paying $25+ mil. Then, they try to say the Warriors can’t afford to give him up without some valuable trade package in return. Last time I checked bench players not worth paying real money don’t get you much back in trades.
I lost all respect for you the way you come to this board not to talk about NBA but just to talk down to people and act like a bully. You are the Davey of the knicks. How am I crying? Explain… You can’t because nobody is crying here. You just want to make this site as a way to take out your anger on complete strangers. Very sad. You do care about Kuminga because in prior post you said you been following him before he was drafted. i could care less if he signs or not. So how is that crying? i don’t see any warrior fan here crying. So you make it up to act like you are tough. That is pathetic.
Kuminga is not worth 25 mill. Not to Warriors. Frankly on any team. Imo he has a year or two to show me his real worth. But that ship sailed a long time ago for Warriors. So he would have to do that on another team. So defending them for being here today. Is just more CRYING. Today its about moving on and getting best value for your team.
Other teams are not going to help you lol. Warriors put themselves in this position.
I would take Kuminga on a two yr 50 mill contract with a PO. There are teams out there who agree with this. But as it stands now. Its best for them to wait it out and get him on the cheap. You wonder why no one has made a decent offer for him
Defending the Warriors at this point is CRYING.
Everything you said makes no sense at all. Who am I defending. Kuminga doesn’t want to sign so its his decision but the warriors should get compensation if he wants a sign and trade. Nobody offered the warriors anything but scraps. I don’t expect other teams to help the warriors but the warriors should take scraps and help out other teams. Can you name a good offer for him they turned down? So you feel the warriors should take some teams guys they want to release any way for him and clog up the payroll withn bad players. Why would they do that?
I think it’s very likely that the contract he would accept from the Warriors and the contract he’d accept after a trade to a team like the Suns or Kings are different. He would probably accept something like 3 years for $100 mil in a trade, but if he accepted that with the Warriors it would hurt him.
In the next three years they will still have Butler and Green and Kuminga doesn’t fit in the starting lineup with those two. He also loses control of the best situation for him after the Warriors if he signs a contract more meant for them to trade. If he signs 3 years without any commitment from the team to play meaningful minutes he will be forced to sign some $10-15 mil one year prove it deal elsewhere. If he gets a 5 year $125-150 mil deal with the Warriors that forces more of a commitment and incentive to play him and pays him for the risk if they don’t.
He probably would sign for less money if a team guaranteed him playing time but it would be for less years like 2 plus a option year.
I think he would take that. I also think he would take less from the Warriors if Kerr guaranteed him meaningful minutes and the chance to start with the promise that if they didn’t they would trade him at the deadline or next year to a team he would be happy with. The core issue is he’s trapped in a situation he doesn’t want to be in and what the Warriors want fundamentally comes at his expense. They will end up in an Ayton with the Suns scenario unless they give him something to where he feels like he’s not shouldering all the risk.
Kuminga’s party no longer trust Kerr. Taking him out of the starting lineup only after 2 games was a complete betryal of trust especially for a 22 yr old player becoming a rfa. It would have been fine if it was after 8-10 games or so. Only 2 games? WHY did they put him in the starting lineup in the first place then? Didnt the coaching staff know what to expect? Did they really want him to succeed? Even in the first 2 gms, Kerr pulled him out of the gm after 5 minutes. How was Kuminga suppose to get in the rhythm or confidence? Even coming off the bench, it was very clear that Kuminga was in Kerr’s doghouse as he was never the first player off the bench. Regardless of intentions, there is major trust issue and it is probably irreconciliable. Kerr is a great coach but he probably would have done a better job with Kuminga if he was his son, Nick Kerr.
I’m a Warriors fan, but they’ve messed up signing/trading him as much as they did developing him