When it comes to Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors are damned if they do and damned if they don't. With less than a month before training camps start, Golden State has yet to sign the 22-year-old forward to any sort of contract.
The problem is that all the advantages in this situation seem to go to Kuminga, who is willing to play for the Warriors if head coach Steve Kerr gives him the chance.
Kuminga is a prime example of everything wrong with the current incarnation of the legendary team. Their big stars are incredibly talented but have been in the league for a long time and simply are not the dominant players they used to be.
The problem is that Kerr seems to still rely heavily on his aging stars over building young talent for the next generation of Warriors' greats. Golden State took Jonathan Kuminga seventh in the 2021 NBA Draft for exactly that kind of building process.
Since then, he has spent a lot of time on the bench and gotten inconsistent minutes at best. The message from the Warriors is that they have no idea how he fits in.
Jonathan Kuminga is in charge in free agency negotiations
As it stands right now, Kuminga is a restricted free agent. He can talk to other teams, but the Warriors have a say in how that plays out. For now, at least.
The current qualifying offer from the Warriors has a deadline of October 1st. If nothing major happens between now and then, that's the contract Kuminga will end up signing, making him a Warrior for one more season.
That's a huge problem for Golden State. That qualifying offer has a no-trade clause, meaning they can't move him during the season. It also means he walks at the end of the 2025-2026 season, leaving the Warriors with nothing to show for his departure.
The Warriors have offered him a two-year contract with a team option in year two. Kuminga's camp has outright rejected that, as they want a player option in year two.
Considering how the Warriors have treated him, it's not surprising he would want to retain as much control over the situation as possible. This has left the Warriors in a difficult spot, particularly because of the time it's taking to sort out.
The Warriors can't make moves until solving the Kuminga problem
Kuminga isn't the only move the Warriors need to make sooner rather than later. Gary Payton II is a free agent and someone Golden State wants to keep on the team.
Until they know what's happening with Kuminga, the front office seems unwilling to make a move on re-signing GPII. The same is true of Al Horford, who the Warriors want but might actually retire before they sign him if they don't hurry up.
How this season plays out for the Warriors depends heavily on what happens with Jonathan Kuminga. At the same time, they put themselves in this position by not taking young talent seriously and sticking with an aging core.