The Warriors and Kuminga remain locked in a contract standoff as deadline looms
Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors are running out of time to reach a deal, with the $7.9 million qualifying offer deadline set for Wednesday, October 1.
The two sides haven’t even discussed pushing back the deadline, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
This isn’t looking good for team chemistry either. Kuminga skipped a team minicamp in San Diego organized by teammate Jimmy Butler, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
He was the only player from last season’s squad who didn’t show up.
But without a contract, why would he?
The Warriors have tried to make it work. They’ve put three different offers on the table for the 6-foot-8 wing player.
Their best offer was a three-year, $75.2 million deal with a team option for the third season. That would guarantee Kuminga $48.3 million over the first two years.
Golden State also offered a two-year, $45 million deal with a team option on the second season, and a three-year, $54 million deal without options.
Kuminga turned them all down.
If he signs the qualifying offer instead, he’d be giving up more than $40 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons. That’s a huge financial gamble. But it would give him a no-trade clause and make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The standoff is causing bigger problems for the Warriors beyond just Kuminga’s situation.
They can’t sign any of their planned free agents while this drags on. Training camp starts Monday, and the team is getting nervous.
“You can certainly understand why the Warriors don’t want to wait one second longer than they have to at this point,” Fischer noted. “Their long-planned signings of Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, and Gary Payton II – and possibly Seth Curry as well – have been on hold because of the Kuminga stalemate.”
If the situation isn’t resolved by Wednesday, Golden State will start their first two days of training camp practices missing several players.
The clock is ticking. The Warriors’ first preseason game against the Lakers is scheduled for October 5, with the regular season opener set for October 21 – also against the Lakers.
