With less than a month before the start of training camp, the Golden State Warriors are still locked in contract negotiations with Jonathan Kuminga. That underscores a troubling new trend for the Warriors.
Kuminga was expected to lead Golden State's young core with the Warriors once hoping to take a dual-track approach to contention. The goal was for the Warriors to remain relevant by continuing to build around their big three while also focusing on adding young talent around them.
They started that process by drafting Jordan Poole in 2019, James Wiseman second overall back in 2020, Kuminga seventh, and Moses Moody 14th overall in 2021. Poole ultimately worked out, helping Golden State win a championship before being traded.
However, Wiseman was a major whiff, while Kuminga still hasn't worked out in the same way that many had hoped. That goes for the Warriors' track record for developing young talent.
The Warriors have failed to develop enough young talent
Although Kuminga hasn't lived up to expectations, some believe that he has been held back by Warriors coach Steve Kerr. Bringing him back at this point would be done with the hope that they could trade him.
Kuminga understandably doesn't want that to happen with him potentially becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. Thus, the contract standoff. With him unlikely to make a huge impact, the Warriors will have to rely on their Big 3 of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler.
All three players are over the age of 35 years old. And while they played impressively well after acquiring Butler, going 23-7 during the regular season, it doesn't inspire confidence about their future.
The Warriors are forced to rely on an aging core with an expiration date
They simply don't have any obvious long-term building blocks to help shoulder the load as their best players age. After trying to model themselves after the Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs, their dynasty has begun to sputter by failing where the Spurs succeeded.
The Spurs consistently nailed their draft selections and found second-round gems to help keep them afloat as their best players aged. That is still paying dividends to this very day with them acquiring star De'Aaron Fox using one of the assets that can be traced back to them trading Kawhi Leonard.
No such luck for the Warriors, who had three lottery picks in three years but no stars or even starters to show for it. That could ultimately come back to bite them when it's inevitably time to rebuild.
Overall, the Warriors' struggles with developing young talent have come back to bite them with their contract standoff. As a result, they will have to rely on an aging core to help them make the playoffs.