Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors will not come to an extension prior to Monday’s deadline, league sources told The Athletic, meaning the emerging young wing will enter restricted free agency next summer as one of the market’s more intriguing names.
Kuminga’s representation and the Warriors were never all that close in negotiations. Kuminga has seen some of the other bigger names in his draft class — Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner — secure max contract commitments from the teams that drafted them and believes he has the talent and upside to play himself into that range after flashing 20-plus point per game capability for long stretches last season.
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. So the two sides plan to let Kuminga’s fourth season play out before revisiting his future.
Kuminga enters this season as a key figure on a Warriors’ team with playoff aspirations. He will be in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s opener in Portland, league sources said, and there appears to be a clear path for him to be a high-volume offensive weapon, perhaps even the team’s second-leading scorer behind Steph Curry.
Kuminga shot the 3 with more confidence and volume in the preseason, going 11 of 25 on mostly catch-and-shoot attempts in the halfcourt.
“That’s what we’ve been telling him,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “You’re open, shoot it, especially if he’s going to be a (small forward) with Draymond and Loon or Trayce (Jackson-Davis).”
Kuminga went 42 of 128 on catch-and-shoot 3s last season. That was fewer than two per game and only 32.8 percent accuracy. The Warriors want him to take more this season, and he said he wants to bump that percentage “way” upward, spending his summer drilling it. Anywhere in the vicinity of 40 percent would be a massive development.
“I’m still working on it,” Kuminga said. “I’m just taking the ones that are open. I’m taking better ones with my feet set. I know I’ll make them. I’m not overthinking it. Coach wants me to take the ones that are open and not think about it. The more you don’t think about it, the more you make them.”
Kuminga is on a $7.6 million deal this upcoming season, the final of his rookie contract. He will remain trade-eligible through February’s deadline and, because he didn’t sign an extension, he will be considered an intriguing piece for any rival franchise interested in investing in him long-term.
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(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
