Jimmy Butler Reportedly 'Reached Out' to Warriors to Discuss Plan amid Kuminga Rumors
Amid the continued contract stalemate between the Golden State Warriors and restricted free-agent forward Jonathan Kuminga, veteran wing Jimmy Butler reportedly contacted the Warriors' brass for some clarity on the situation.
Speaking this week on the Dubs Talk podcast (h/t NBA Central), Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area said Butler reached out to decision-makers within the organization to get some answers:
"In that ESPN article, they mentioned that Draymond [Green] and Jimmy have checked in and reached out to Jonathan Kuminga. I can confidently say that Jimmy Butler has also reached out to the team and been like, 'What's going on here? I just wanted to know the plan.'"
In the aforementioned article, ESPN's Anthony Slater and Shams Charania reported that Butler and Green have checked in on Kuminga in recent weeks regarding "his plans and his mindset."
Prior to last season's trade deadline, the Warriors acquired Butler in a deal with the Miami Heat after he had become disgruntled with his former organization.
The move paid instant dividends for the Warriors, as they went 23-7 in the 30 regular-season games Butler played for them after the trade.
Butler also helped lead Golden State to the second round of the playoffs where it fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games.
Superstar guard Stephen Curry getting injured in Game 1 against Minnesota and missing the rest of the series is a big reason why the Dubs were eliminated, but it created an opportunity for Kuminga to build some momentum entering this season.
The 2021 No. 7 overall draft pick had a breakout season in 2023-24 when he set career highs with 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while shooting a career-best 52.9 percent from the field.
Kuminga was expected to take another leap forward last season as a result, but he struggled through injuries and was limited to 47 games, and his production dipped to 15.3 points per contest on just 45.4 percent shooting.
After getting off to a slow start in the playoffs as well, Kuminga exploded after Curry got injured, averaging 24.3 points per game on 55.4 percent shooting over the four games Curry missed.
That created some hope that Kuminga could get back on track this season, but he remains unsigned with the start of the regular season just over one month away.
In July, Charania and Slater reported that the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns both showed interest in acquiring Kuminga in a sign-and-trade, and one of the teams offered Kuminga a four-year deal worth nearly $90 million as part of the proposal.
However, Charania added on NBA Today that the Warriors balked at the Kings offering a conditional first-round pick and a rotation player in the trade, instead preferring to land an unprotected first-round pick.
Last week, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that "there has been little substantive dialogue" between Kuminga and the Warriors recently, but those with knowledge of the talks said "we could finally see some movement on the Kuminga front next week."
Nothing has happened yet, though, and it is starting to get concerning with the start of the 2025-26 season drawing near.
Aside from keeping the core of Curry, Green and Butler in place, the Warriors didn't do much with their roster this offseason, as they were one of the least active teams in the league.
Failing to reach an agreement with Kuminga or trading him would likely make the roster worse, which can't possibly be what Curry, Green and Butler want, given that they are nearing the end of their careers and may not have many more opportunities to vie for a championship.
