Warriors Rumors

Kings, Warriors Resume Kuminga Sign-And-Trade Talks

September 24th, 2025 at 9:48pm CST by Luke Adams

After going more than a month without engaging in discussions regarding a potential Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, the Kings and Warriors resumed their conversations earlier this week, team sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic.

According to Amick, the two Pacific Division rivals didn’t make significant progress in those talks, but the fact that they happened at all indicates that Sacramento hasn’t closed the door on making a move for the restricted free agent forward.

The Kings were considered the top rival suitor earlier in the offseason for Kuminga, offering him a three-year, $63MM contract and offering Golden State a package of Malik Monk and a lottery-protected 2030 first-round pick.

As Amick writes, there are a number of reasons why the Warriors turned down that offer. For one, they don’t appear all that enthusiastic about acquiring Monk — there are questions about his fit on the roster, plus his $21.6MM player option for 2027/28 doesn’t appeal to Golden State from a cap perspective. According to Amick, the Warriors would likely want to flip Monk to another team, but it’s unclear if such an opportunity would be available at this point.

Another potential sticking point for the Warriors is the fact that swapping Kuminga straight up for Monk would hard-cap the team at the first tax apron due to base year compensation rules. That would complicate Golden State’s ability to fill out the rest of its roster, including signing Al Horford using the taxpayer mid-level exception.

The Warriors would likely have to trade either Buddy Hield or Moses Moody to a third team to avoid that first-apron hard cap. Prior reporting stated that Golden State didn’t have much interest in taking that route, and Amick suggests that stance has only gotten stronger as of late.

Finally, while Sacramento is unlikely to entirely remove the protections from the 2030 first-round pick they’re including in their offer, the Warriors would likely want those protections lightened in order to seriously consider making a deal with the Kings, Amick continues. In Sacramento’s current offer, the Warriors would receive the least favorable of the Kings’ and Spurs’ 2031 first-rounders if the 2030 pick lands in the lottery.

Recent reporting indicated that Golden State has made new offers to Kuminga, including one three-year, $75MM proposal that includes a third-year team option. However, the 22-year-old’s agent, Aaron Turner, continues to suggest that accepting the $8MM qualifying offer – which comes with a no-trade clause and a clear path to 2026 unrestricted free agency – is a viable option for his client.

Turner told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Wednesday that the Warriors’ insistence on a team option in the final year of their two- and three-year offers has been a sticking point for Kuminga and his reps.

Kuminga has until October 1 to sign his qualifying offer, so resolution should come – one way or another – within the next week.

Quentin Grimes, Sixers Still ‘Very Far Apart’

September 24th, 2025 at 8:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:56 pm: Confirming that the Sixers have offered Grimes a one-year contract worth more than his qualifying offer (which would require him to waive his no-trade clause), Tony Jones of The Athletic reports that the Sixers and the RFA wing also have mutual interest in working out a longer-term deal.

While both sides are amenable to the idea of working out a four-year agreement, they’re far apart on what the money in such a contract would look like, Jones adds.

3:01 pm: Restricted free agent Quentin Grimes and the Sixers are still “very far apart on a deal” to resolve their summer-long standoff, Shams Charania of ESPN said in an appearance on NBA Today (Twitter video link).

Agent David Bauman told Charania that today was the first time the team made a “formal, hard offer” since free agency began. Bauman said Grimes won’t attend Philadelphia’s media day on Friday and he doesn’t plan to accompany the team this weekend to Abu Dhabi, where they’ll play two preseason games against the Knicks.

Charania points out that the Sixers have less incentive to offer a lengthy contract to Grimes after landing dynamic shooting guard VJ Edgecombe in the draft. Coupled with uncertainty over the health of stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, Philadelphia may not want to add another expensive deal to its payroll.

Charania suggests that the likely resolution appears to be Grimes either accepting the team’s $8.7MM qualifying offer, or possibly a larger one-year deal where Grimes would waive his no-trade clause. Either way, he would become an unrestricted free agent next summer when more teams will have money to spend.

Grimes was acquired from Dallas in a February trade, joining a team that was decimated by injuries and had difficulty fielding a competitive roster. He immediately became the Sixers’ offensive star, averaging a career-best 21.9 PPG in 28 games while shooting 46.9% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range.

He had hoped those numbers would lead to a lucrative new contract, but he ran into a difficult market for a number of restricted free agents. Josh Giddey reached a new deal with the Bulls, but Cam Thomas accepted his qualifying offer with Brooklyn and Jonathan Kuminga remains in a standoff with Golden State.

Charania also provided an update on Kuminga, saying he’s the only projected member of the Warriors‘ roster who is not attending a mini-camp that Jimmy Butler is holding in San Diego this week.

Kuminga is still locked in a “stalemate” with the team, and Charania said agent Aaron Turner told him on Wednesday that the Warriors’ insistence on a team option “still remains critical” in keeping the two sides from reaching an agreement.

And-Ones: ESPN Survey, S. Cash, Bargain FAs, More

September 23rd, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

A panel of 20 coaches, executives, and scouts around the NBA polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps overwhelmingly picked Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current best player in the NBA, with Jokic receiving 19 votes while Lakers guard Luka Doncic earned the last one.

However, the predictions for 2025/26 MVP were more divided — Jokic leads the way with seven votes, but Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (five), Doncic (four), and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (two) each received multiple votes, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards each got one too.

The panel polled by Bontemps also predicted who will be the NBA’s best player in 2030 (Wembanyama received 16 votes), who will win Rookie of the Year in 2025/26 (Cooper Flagg earned 19 votes), and where LeBron James will be when the 2026/27 season begins — seven respondents expect him to still be a Laker, while five said he’ll be retired and eight believe he’ll be with a new team.

Those coaches, executives, and scouts also believe the Hawks (seven votes) had the best offseason of the NBA’s 30 teams, while the Pelicans (nine votes) had the worst summer. And they nearly unanimously picked the Thunder to repeat as champions. Just two respondents chose the Nuggets to win the 2026 title, while the other 18 stuck with Oklahoma City.

Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:

After being let go by the Pelicans in April, former WNBA star and veteran NBA executive Swin Cash is joining Amazon Prime Video for the 2025/26 season, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Cash will have the role of “front office insider” on Prime Video’s NBA studio show, then will become a studio analyst for Amazon’s WNBA coverage.
Thomas Bryant, Precious Achiuwa, Alec Burks, and Delon Wright are among the unsigned players identified by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report as bargain free agents who are capable of helping any NBA team.
John Hollinger of The Athletic views the Thunder (62.5 wins), Clippers (48.5), Warriors (45.5), Bulls (32.5), and Jazz (18.5) as the five teams who are the best bets to exceed the over/under win projections set by oddsmakers for the 2025/26 season.

Stein’s Latest: Warriors, Kuminga, Wizards, Bailey, THT, Davis

September 23rd, 2025 at 7:24am CST by Luke Adams

As Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article for The Stein Line, the Warriors‘ training camp will tip off a week from today (September 30), while the deadline for Jonathan Kuminga to accept his qualifying offer arrives one day later (October 1).

That means that if Kuminga’s decision goes down to the wire, the Warriors may open camp with a significant portion of their eventual roster missing. The club is currently carrying just nine players on standard contracts and has opted not to fill the five remaining non-Kuminga roster spots until the restricted free agent’s situation is resolved in order to maximize cap flexibility.

According to Stein, the expectation around the NBA is that the five players who eventually fill the remaining third of Golden State’s roster will be Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, Seth Curry, and second-round pick Will Richard. In that scenario, Horford would be signed using the taxpayer mid-level exception, while the others would receive minimum-salary deals.

As for what happens with Kuminga, Stein says he’d be surprised if the 22-year-old sacrifices $40MM-ish in guaranteed money by signing his one-year, $8MM qualifying offer instead of accepting a reported three-year, $75MM proposal that includes a third-year team option, though he cautions that’s just informed speculation rather than sourced information.

Here’s more from Stein:

The belief around the NBA since June’s draft is that the Wizards – who held the No. 6 overall pick – were Ace Bailey‘s preferred landing spot, says Stein. Utah ultimately drafted Bailey at No. 5. Given their apparent interest in Bailey, it raised some eyebrows when the Wizards signed Sharife Cooper to a two-way contract last week, according to Stein. Cooper, who had been out of the NBA since the 2021/22 season, is the son of Bailey’s manager Omar Cooper.
Although six-year NBA veteran Talen Horton-Tucker officially signed a two-year contract with the Turkish team Fenerbahce over the weekend, the expectation is that he’ll try to return to the NBA next summer if his first year in Europe goes well, per Stein. That suggests Horton-Tucker’s deal includes an opt-out clause after year one.
After reporting on Saturday that Mavericks star Anthony Davis had taken part in some five-on-five scrimmages for the first time since undergoing eye surgery in July, Stein cautions that Dallas will likely take a cautious approach with the big man once camp officially gets underway, since “pickup game intensity cannot compare to training camp intensity.”

Kevin Durant Offers His Perspective On Trade Saga In Phoenix

September 20th, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant trade rumors shook up the NBA last winter as the Suns tried to dismantle their underachieving team in midseason. Durant recalled that experience this week during an appearance at the Game Plan Sports Business Summit in Los Angeles, saying he learned he was being shopped “around February,” relays Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

“Initially, I was a little upset because I felt like we built a solid relationship, me and the Phoenix Suns,” Durant said. “And to hear that from a different party was kind of upsetting, but that’s just the name of the game. So I got over that quickly and was trying to figure out what the next steps were.”

Durant was linked to several teams in trade talks, but the quickly approaching February 6 deadline made it difficult to put a deal together. He confirmed that the Warriors had real interest in bringing him back to the Bay Area, where he won titles in 2017 and 2018, but Durant had business partner Rich Kleiman shut down that possibility.

“I heard Golden State was in the mix around the trade deadline, but that’s when Rich came into play, and those relationships that we built around the league and also playing in Golden State helped,” Durant told the audience. “We were able to tell them kind of hold off on that.”

Durant remained in Phoenix, but a breakup seemed inevitable after the Suns failed to qualify for the play-in tournament. He missed the final seven games of the season after suffering an ankle injury on March 30.

Durant found himself back on the market when the summer began. Houston, San Antonio and Miami were reportedly on his list of preferred locations, and Minnesota was rumored to be involved in the bidding as well. An agreement on a deal sending him to the Rockets was reached in June, with Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the 10th pick in the draft, which was used to take Khaman Maluach, going to Phoenix in return.

“Since me being on the market in February when there’s also a trade deadline, people were just kind of seeing how their seasons played out and what they needed for their teams,” Durant said. “We knew we would revisit that right around the summertime, and Houston kind of jumped on, and it happened pretty fast from there.”

Agent: Jonathan Kuminga Willing To Accept Qualifying Offer

September 19th, 2025 at 8:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Appearing on the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), agent Aaron Turner said accepting the $8MM qualifying offer is a realistic option for restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga unless the Warriors‘ offers improve, relays Anthony Slater of ESPN.

“There’s a lot of upside,” Turner told the hosts. “He wants to pick where he wants to go. So the QO is real for sure.”

As Slater reported on Monday, Golden State recently engaged in another negotiating session with Kuminga and Turner, submitting its latest offer of $75.2MM over three years with a team option for the final season. That would give him two fully guaranteed seasons at a total of $48.3MM.

Earlier in the summer, the team offered a two-year, $45MM contract that contains a team option in the second season. The only offer without a team option limits his salary to $54MM over three years, an average of $18MM per season.

Kuminga has refused to accept any of those scenarios, but Turner said this week that he would be agreeable to the latest offer if the Warriors replace the team option with a player option. The team has refused to put a player option on the table, which is why Kuminga finds the QO so appealing. Although he would be playing for far below his market value for one season, Kuminga would become unrestricted next summer and would have the power to choose his next team.

“If (the Warriors) want to win now, if you want a guy that’s happy and treated fairly who is a big part of this team, we believe, moving forward, you give him the player option,” Turner said on the podcast. “You do lose a little of that trade value (giving that up). But if it’s about the here and now, you give him that. You don’t get a perfect deal, but you get a pretty good deal and he gets to feel respected about what he gets and we all move on and worry about winning, helping Steph (Curry).”

The Warriors’ offseason has been on hold while they work toward a solution with Kuminga. They reportedly have deals lined up with free agents Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II, but those can’t be finalized because using any portion of the mid-level exception would hard-cap the Warriors at the second apron. That creates the risk that another team could open enough cap room to give Kuminga an offer that Golden State wouldn’t be able to match.

“If JK wants to take (the qualifying offer), it does have upside, right?” Turner said. “We’ve talked about that. You’re not getting traded. You’re going to have unrestricted free agency (next summer). People are going to say, ‘Well, Aaron, there’s not going to be 10 or 12 teams (with cap space).’ Fine, there’ll be six teams with cap space for the clear-cut under-35 top wing on the market. So there’s a lot of upside.”

The Suns and Kings both expressed interest in Kuminga this summer before Golden State shut down sign-and-trade talks. Sacramento was reportedly offering a contract worth $63-66MM over three years, while Phoenix was willing to pay him between $80-88MM over four seasons. However, neither team made a trade offer that enticed the Warriors.

“He’s gotten a chance to hear from other teams,” Turner said. “You know, Sacramento, he’s spent some time with them, got to meet (general manager) Scott Perry, (head coach) Doug Christie, the Suns and what they’ve offered him. There’s been other teams, too, maybe planting seeds for (2026 or 2027). But they’re saying, ‘Hey, we want you to be you. We don’t want you to change anything. We want to put the ball in your hands. We want to give you a huge opportunity to play.'”

Turner added that Kuminga isn’t opposed to staying with the Warriors, but that would mean putting his personal ambitions aside, and Turner believes his client should be financially compensated for that decision. He called Golden State “as first-class as you get,” but pointed out that other teams would be giving Kuminga a chance to play full-time starter’s minutes, while staying put means he would be coming off the bench and battling for playing time with Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Horford.

“No guarantees he starts any games,” Turner said. “He may, but we don’t know. Finishing games, night to night, who knows? It depends if (coach Steve Kerr) has a combination he likes and it’s working. Maybe he sticks with it. Maybe he doesn’t. You’re going to have to not have the ball as much. You’re going to have to stay away from developing certain parts of your game, or wanting to lean into certain parts of your game, especially shooting any type of mid-range jump shots, which is something JK does work on. But in the Golden State offense and the role he’s in, that’s not going to be a big shot that he’s really going to be able to take much.”

With media day just 10 days away, there’s a growing urgency on both sides to get the matter resolved. Turner indicated that Kuminga would take the two-year offer if he’s allowed to keep an inherent no-trade clause that would come with it, but the team hasn’t budged on that point. He added that Kuminga would want to be compensated for accepting a team option — something in the neighborhood of $30MM per year.

“Two years from now, if you want to keep him, you’ll have his Bird rights (even if you give him a player option),” Turner said. “You treat him good and you show him the plan, then maybe you keep him. (The player option contract) is not perfect, but I don’t think anybody can get everything they really want.

“If you ask JK, he wants Jalen Green‘s deal. He’s not getting that. He wants Jalen Johnson‘s deal. You’re not getting that. If the Warriors, we feel like, pick the front end (of the contract), if that number needs to be lower to stay under a second apron, (it’s a) player option. Or if it’s about really controlling the back end of the deal, move the number up, shake your roster up and you can have a team option. Or, the hybrid model, let him keep his no-trade clause.”

Jimmy Butler Reached Out To Warriors On Jonathan Kuminga Negotiations

September 17th, 2025 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler has contacted Warriors management to gauge the situation involving restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, NBC Sports Bay Area reporter Dalton Johnson said on the latest Dubs Talk podcast (YouTube link).

Kuminga remains unsigned with the start of training camp less than two weeks away. A report earlier this week stated that the team recently increased its offer to $75.2MM over three years, but Kuminga and his representatives refused to accept because it contains a team option for the final season.

“I can confidently say that Jimmy Butler has also reached out to the team and been like, ‘What’s going on here? I just want to know the plan,’” Johnson said.

Johnson points out that the Warriors quickly resolved any outstanding issues with Butler when they acquired him from Miami in a February trade. Butler had been engaged in a prolonged standoff with the Heat because they were unwilling to agree to an extension, but Golden State announced a new two-year, $111MM contract with Butler when the trade was finalized.

“I think Jimmy, as someone who came on last year and kind of showed, ‘All right, you took care of me, all the drama’s done, all the Miami stuff, it’s just basketball for me. I’m all about basketball,” Johnson added. “When I’m on the contract for you, it’s about basketball. And now I think he’s saying, ‘Hey, show me that it’s all about basketball. We have two weeks until training camp. So either just pay (Kuminga) or move him. Like, there needs to be a decision.’”

Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, told ESPN’s Anthony Slater that his client would be willing to take the Warriors’ latest offer if the team option is replaced by a player option. If a new deal can’t be worked out, Kuminga can still choose to accept the one-year, $8MM qualifying offer that was tendered in late June. It contains a no-trade clause and would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Latest On Jonathan Kuminga

September 17th, 2025 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

After writing on Monday in a story co-reported with Shams Charania that the Warriors have made Jonathan Kuminga a three-year offer worth approximately $75MM with a third-year team option, ESPN’s Anthony Slater provided an update on those negotiations on Tuesday during an NBA Today appearance (Twitter video link).

“I actually talked to Aaron Turner, Jonathan Kuminga’s agent, this morning, and the messaging they’re adopting this week is ‘turn the TO to a PO and it’s done,'” Slater said. “… (The team option) on that three-year deal, if that’s suddenly a player option, not only will Jonathan Kuminga sign it, they’re saying, but he will be completely bought in on the mission that they’re asking of him, which is – using Turner’s messaging – to get Steph Curry and Draymond Green a fifth ring (and) Jimmy Butler his first ring.”

Reporting throughout the summer has indicated that Kuminga is seeking a contract that positions him to be more of a building block than simply a trade chip.

While the 22-year-old would prefer to be in a situation where his role is both more prominent and more defined, Slater’s report suggests he has expressed a willingness to re-sign with Golden State – where his playing time and responsibilities have been inconsistent – if he’s assured of a multiyear guarantee and the opportunity to reach the open market in two years.

“(Kuminga’s camp would view a third-year player option as) a show of goodwill…for what they’re calling ‘years of confusion’ over his role and a willingness to suppress some of his personal ambitions,” Slater said. “… (He would) accept what’s probably going to be a bench role, what’s probably going to be fluctuating minutes, and accepting what will very likely be a tradable contract.”

According to ESPN’s report on Monday, the Warriors’ only offer to Kuminga that hasn’t included a team option on the final year was a three-year proposal that averaged about $18MM annually. There would be little reason for the RFA forward to accept that offer over the version of the three-year deal that includes a team option and is worth closer to $25MM per year.

Signing the one-year, $8MM qualifying offer that comes with a no-trade clause and a path to 2026 unrestricted free agency remains an option for Kuminga until October 1 if he’s not satisfied with any of the team’s other offers.

Here’s more on Kuminga:

Golden State’s goal of maximizing cap flexibility for the summer of 2027 has been a factor in negotiations with Kuminga and in sign-and-trade talks, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Given their desire to keep their options open for that offseason, the Warriors have been reluctant to give Kuminga a player option for 2027/28; it’s also one reason why the club isn’t eager to acquire Malik Monk, the centerpiece of the Kings‘ sign-and-trade offer for Kuminga, who has a player option worth $21.6MM for ’27/28.
The Kings are still under the impression that Kuminga wants to play for them, but the Warriors shut down sign-and-trade talks with Sacramento and the Suns earlier in the summer, says Amick. While it’s possible Golden State revisits those discussions at the 11th hour, league and team sources say a deal with either Pacific rival remains highly unlikely, Amick adds.
Keith Smith of Spotrac takes a closer look at the Kuminga standoff, exploring various potential outcomes and explaining the various factors each involved party is taking into account.

Stein’s Latest: Banton, Love, Warriors, NBA Europe, Bonga

September 15th, 2025 at 5:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Dalano Banton has received interest from teams overseas but continues to seek an NBA opportunity after spending the past season-and-a-half in Portland, Marc Stein writes for The Stein Line (Substack link).

According to Stein, Banton has recently auditioned for multiple NBA teams, including the Warriors and Pacers, though Indiana decided to pass on him.

Banton, who was traded from the Celtics to the Trail Blazers at the 2024 deadline, has since appeared in 97 games for Portland, averaging 10.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 20.6 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .399/.319/.751. He has been an unrestricted free agent since his contract expired on June 30.

Here’s more from Stein:

The Jazz and Kevin Love have yet to engage in serious discussions about a buyout, per Stein. While it’s “widely known” that Love would like to play for a team closer to contention, it doesn’t sound as if he has a post-buyout spot lined up yet, Stein explains, so there has been no urgency to get out of his contract with Utah.
Stein reiterates that the expectation around the NBA is that veteran free agents Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II will sign with the Warriors once Jonathan Kuminga‘s situation is resolved. According to Stein, the latest round of negotiations between the Warriors and Kuminga has “sparked some fresh optimism” that both he and those other vets will be signed prior to the team’s media day on September 29.
After FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajosa predicted that the NBA’s new European league could tip off in 2027, Stein says his own reporting suggests Garbajosa’s timetable may not be exact but also isn’t far off.
Although Isaac Bonga‘s NBA exit clause for 2025 expired, he drew interest from a few teams earlier in the summer, according to Stein, who says Bonga committed to spending the coming season with Partizan Belgrade after not getting a concrete offer from any of those clubs. Stein anticipates Bonga will receive more serious NBA interest next offseason.

Warriors Made New Offer To Jonathan Kuminga, But Stalemate Continues

September 15th, 2025 at 9:10am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors made a new contract offer to restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga last week, hoping to end the standoff that has prevented them from completing other offseason moves, sources tell Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of ESPN.

Golden State’s latest proposal is a three-year, $75.2MM deal with a team option in the third season, according to the authors’ sources. It includes $48.3MM in guaranteed money over the first two years, which Slater and Charania point out is nearly equal to the annual salary that restricted free agent Josh Giddey received last week in his new contract with Chicago. They add that the major difference is that Giddey received four guaranteed years with no options on either side, while Kuminga would most likely be a trade asset under his next contract rather than part of the team’s long-term future.

The offer is an increase from the two-year, $45MM contract that was presented to Kuminga and his representatives earlier this summer. That deal also included a team option on the final season and a demand that Kuminga waive his inherent no-trade clause.

The authors describe the Warriors’ insistence on those provisions, even in the new proposal, as a “major part” of the prolonged standoff. Their sources say Golden State’s only offer without a team option was for $54MM over three years, which brings the annual salary down to $18MM.

Kuminga has been requesting a player option to give him more control over his future, sources tell Slater and Charania. He and agent Aaron Turner have been willing to accept a yearly salary in the $20MM range as a tradeoff, but they believe agreeing to a team option should bring Kuminga’s salary up to about $30MM per year. The Warriors consider a player option to be a “nonstarter,” according to the authors.

The latest proposal from Kuminga and his agent is described as a “souped-up version” of Golden State’s qualifying offer, which is also still on the table. Kuminga would receive more money than the $8MM QO that was tendered in late June, but it would be a one-year deal that makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer and allows the Warriors to shop him as an expiring contract heading into the trade deadline. It also creates the possibility that Kuminga could spend another full season with the team and start negotiations fresh next offseason.

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. turned down that idea, the authors state, as owner Joe Lacob is reportedly unwilling to accept any deal that puts the Warriors at risk of losing Kuminga next summer while getting nothing in return.

Lacob has been a strong believer in Kuminga ever since he advocated drafting him ahead of Franz Wagner in 2021, according to the authors. Sources tell them that Lacob refused to part with Kuminga in a proposed trade with Chicago for Alex Caruso two years ago, and he remained a vocal supporter even when the forward was removed from Steve Kerr‘s rotation last season. But sources tell the authors that Lacob has never intervened with Kerr on Kuminga’s behalf and has allowed the coach to make his own decisions about who gets on the court.

Kerr has indicated that Kuminga would see ample playing time this season if he opts to re-sign, according to Slater and Charania’s sources. However, Kuminga’s camp has pointed to comments that Kerr made during the playoffs — stating that Kuminga isn’t a natural fit alongside Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler — and they suggest that staying with Golden State might not be the best move for Kuminga’s career.

Before the Warriors shut down the idea of a sign-and-trade, they received offers from the Suns (who intended to pay Kuminga about $80-88MM over four years) and Kings (three years at $63-66MM), who were both willing to give him a player option and make him their starting power forward.

However, the Warriors weren’t satisfied with the return in the proposed deals, which reportedly would have brought Royce O’Neale and second-round draft compensation from Phoenix or Malik Monk and a protected first-rounder from Sacramento.

With training camp starting in two weeks, the authors state that Kuminga’s best hope is for Lacob to intervene, either to give him the financial compensation that he wants or ease his pathway to another team. The Warriors have several moves on hold that can’t be completed until the Kuminga situation is resolved, so a final decision will have to be made soon.

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