Golden State Warriors young star Jonathan Kuminga was named as the “biggest flight risk” in the offseason by Bleacher Report’s salary cap expert Eric Pincus.
“The Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga weren’t on the same page in extension talks before the season. That will come to a head in July when Kuminga becomes a restricted free agent,” Pincus wrote. “The [Brooklyn] Nets can easily scare off Golden State with an overpay, but would a starting salary of $25 million from the Pistons be enough?”
The Nets are projected to have the most cap room in the offseason. But a $25 million annual average salary is much lower than what the Warriors were willing to commit to Kuminga in their failed extension.
The Warriors offered $30 million in annual average salary but Kuminga was “aiming for” a $35 million, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported in the fall.
Entering Tuesday’s game in Miami, Kuminga is averaging 13.8 points on 42.6% shooting with 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 23.2 minutes across six games since he returned from a 32-game absence due to a significant ankle sprain.
Kuminga is shooting an atrocious 14.3% from the 3-point line since his return.
According to Pincus, the Warriors “could also sign and trade Kuminga for players to help over the next two years (the Stephen Curry/Jimmy Butler/Draymond Green timeline).”
Warriors’ Staggering Payroll
The NBA salary cap for next season has been pegged at $154.6 million next season, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, with the luxury tax threshold at $187.9 million. The first apron is at $195.9 million and the second apron limit at $207.8 million.
The Warriors will owe the aging trio of Curry, Butler and Green roughly $140 million next season. That number bumps up to $166 million with the guaranteed salaries of Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
They will only have roughly $29 million under the first apron and $37 million under the second apron and the taxpayer exception to sign seven more players to reach the league minimum of 14.
The Warriors have to make salary cap gymnastics to accommodate Kuminga and still have enough to fill out the rest of the roster.
Joe Lacob on Jonathan Kuminga’s Restricted Free Agency
Warriors owner Joe Lacob isn’t afraid of paying the luxury tax so long as it leads to winning. However, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement’s penalties for repeat offenders have become restrictive in building and maintaining an expensive roster.
But Lacob has a fondness for Kuminga, the seventh overall pick in 2021, the year where they started their ambitious two-way timeline. On Feb. 12, The Athletic ran a story on how Butler’s arrival will impact Kuminga’s future.
Lacob adamantly said they will keep Kuminga beyond this season.
In a recent interview with Golden State owner Joe Lacob, The Athletic asked if Butler’s addition would complicate Kuminga’s future.
“Why?” Lacob said.
Because Butler’s salary next season is $25.9 million more than Wiggins was scheduled to make.
“Yeah,” Lacob said. “So?”
So Lacob and the Warriors are still committed to paying what it takes to keep Kuminga, who will enter a thin market as maybe the most intriguing wing target?
“Absolutely,” Lacob said. “One hundred percent. Are you kidding me? I love that guy. We love him.”
But a lot has happened between then and now and still could happen until July.
Butler’s arrival made the Warriors an instant playoff contender.
If the Warriors’ season ends in an improbable championship run, Kuminga is almost certain to get paid and stay in the Bay. But if not, the Warriors might have to re-think their course of action this offseason.
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