Maybe it wasn’t Steve Kerr’s fault after all. For years, there were two lines on Warriors 2021 lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga. The first was that, despite all his athleticism and raw ability, he never put in the work to improve as a player and never approached his spot in Golden State’s rotation with the needed humility to accept the role that the team wanted him to play and try to excel in it. The second was that Kuminga was an uber talented athletic freak that the should have bent over backwards to accommodate, and it was the coaching prejudice of Steve Kerr that kept Kuminga from being a perennial All-Star.
This is where we’d usually say that the truth is somewhere in between. But the fact is, at this point in the offseason, Kuminga is still unsigned, still a free agent, and his options appear to be dried up. At least from the point of view of NBA teams, it certainly looks like the first line on Kuminga is the right one–he seems to think he is a lot better than the league thinks he is.
Otherwise he would have a team now. But, as one NBA executive said in describing Kuminga’s situation: “It happens every year, that one guy kind of overplays his hand and the next thing, he is sent off into the free-agent abyss and has to take a minimum deal.”
Jonathan Kuminga Never Improved With Warriors
Kuminga, in four-plus years with the Warriors, averaged 12.5 points and 4.2 rebounds. He made some improvements defensively, but never developed into the wing stopper the Warriors felt he could be. He also never improved his offensive game beyond ill-advised midrange shots and ducking his head to attack the basket. He is an excellent transition player, but a poor 3-point shooter, at 33.2% for his career.
The Warriors, of course, signed Kuminga to a two-year deal with a team option after an extended restricted free-agent battle last summer. The second year was a team option, and the contract was designed to allow the Warriors to trade Kuminga and get some value back. They did, trading Kuminga to the Hawks in a package for center Kristaps Porzingis.
Jonathan Kuminga Overvalued His Worth (Again)
But in the first sign that Kuminga overvalued his worth to teams, the Hawks declined to pick up his option for this year, worth $24.3 million. The Lakers were able to carve out cap space for him and were willing to pay him a two-year, $20 million contract. He turned that down.
There was a thought that the Hawks could sign-and-trade him, except that the market appears to have said otherwise. It’s possible such a deal could be resurrected but as of now, most teams have used up their space and their rosters are pretty well set. If no one wants to give the Hawks draft capital to facilitate a Kuminga trade then there’s no sign-and-trade coming.
Warriors Offered $75 Million
Remember, a report from ESPN last year noted that the Warriors offered, “Jonathan Kuminga a three-year, $75.2 million deal with a team option in the third season, sources told ESPN.” The team, whatever might be said of their handling of Kuminga, did believe in his talent and wanted to cultivate it. But Kuminga turned that deal down.
(Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, did deny that there had been an extension offer of $150 million over five years, which had been previously reported.)
The NBA executive said this could all end with Kuminga on a one-year “prove-it” deal worth something in the range of the non-taxpayer midlevel, or $6 million. Worse, it could be a veteran minimum deal. Unless there is a shocking sign-and-trade in the coming weeks, the Warriors have cause to feel justified with their handling of Kuminga.
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