Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors Reunion Reportedly Still In Play, Sign-and-Trade Possible

It once seemed certain that Jonathan Kuminga's time with the Golden State Warriors would come to an end this summer, but there's now a possibility he could remain with the organization.

Per The Athletic's Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II, Kuminga is expected to receive his $10.2 million qualifying offer from the Warriors, and a reunion is "still on the table" for both sides.

The report notes that Warriors governor Joe Lacob's "loyalty to Kuminga is well-known" dating back to 2021 when he was "an influential voice" in the draft room when they selected him with the No. 7 overall pick, but both parties will also explore sign-and-trade scenarios, as well.

Slater and Thompson also included a quote from Lacob praising the job Kuminga did guarding Anthony Edwards in the Warriors' playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves:

"I was listening to the guys behind me tonight give running commentary—T’Wolves fans. (Kuminga)’s the guy they talked about all night long. He’s the only guy that could really guard (Anthony Edwards) out there. Did a pretty damn good job. He had a tough situation with the DNPs from the last series, and to bounce back from that, I give him a lot of credit. I’m a big fan of his."

Kuminga took on an increased role in the series after Stephen Curry suffered a hamstring injury in Game 1. The 22-year-old was terrific in the last four games, averaging 24.3 points on 55.4 percent shooting (38.9 percent from three).

It was also a dramatic turn of fortune after head coach Steve Kerr effectively benched him for most of the series against the Houston Rockets. Kuminga didn't play in four of the games and was only on the floor for seven minutes in Game 7.

The relationship and dynamic between Kerr and Kuminga has been a key focus dating back to last season. Slater and Shams Charania reported in January 2024 that Kuminga had "lost faith" in Kerr and felt like he wouldn't allow him to reach his full potential.

The Ringer's Logan Murdock noted Kerr was "incensed" at Kuminga during an April 11 game against the Portland Trail Blazers "after several instances in which Kuminga looked off (Stephen) Curry to create his own offense."

Kuminga is hitting restricted free agency at a very interesting point in his career. He's still young enough that teams, including the Warriors, could look easily bet on his size and skill set coalescing to become at least a quality starter on a playoff team.

However, Kuminga is also coming off his least efficient season in the NBA. He shot under 50 percent from the field for the first time in his career (45.4) and made a career-low 30.5 percent of his three-point attempts.

Among 277 players listed at forward in the regular season, Kuminga's effective field-goal percentage of 49.5 in the regular season was tied for 211th with Miles Bridges, Jalen Smith and Tristan da Silva.

The Warriors would lose a lot of financial flexibility if they were to retain Kuminga this summer. ESPN's Bobby Marks noted they would have access to the $14.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception if he is not on the roster.

It's a difficult situation for a Warriors team that doesn't have a lot of young players with as much upside as Kuminga, but they've also been waiting for four seasons to see if he can put it all together with mixed results thus far.

For a team with Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green getting closer to the end of their careers, the Warriors have to decide if they can bet on Kuminga being good enough to help get that group over the top and bridge the gap for the franchise's next era when that trio is no longer playing.