It’s been almost a month since free agency opened up, and Jonathan Kuminga is still entangled with the Golden State Warriors. The Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns have all expressed interest in the 22-year-old forward, but his restricted free agent status makes it difficult to move him.
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The Warriors don’t want to give Kuminga up for nothing, but they also don’t seem to want to keep paying him either. Needless to say, Kuminga would prefer to be traded as soon as it becomes viable. Though, as things presently look, he will have to wait.
According to Chris Mannix, the Congolese star might simply stay where he is. Talking to Rachel Nicole of Sports Illustrated, Mannix claimed to have texted people he considers reliable sources, but has heard nothing but silence about Kuminga’s next contract.
“My guess, still with Kuminga, is that he and the Warriors agree to some kind of short-term deal. I think it’ll be longer than one year because I think he wants — and his people want — to save face on a new deal there,” Mannix speculated.
Mannix asserted that, while Brooklyn had some interest in Kuminga for a while, the situation remains stagnant at best. He could be a great fit in Washington, but that deal doesn’t seem to be materializing anytime soon. And though the Suns have a genuine desire to bring him on, they lack draft capital and other assets.
“Other guys like Quentin Grimes, Josh Giddey, I’m pretty sure they re-signed, as Kuminga was kind of the outlier there that he’s a really good young talent, and the Warriors really don’t see him as a long-term fit,” Mannix pointed out.
“I think he winds up back there. I don’t know when it’s going to happen or how it’s going to happen, but my guess is that it’s like a 2-year, $50 million deal, something in that range. [It could possibly be] three years, $60 [million] maybe, if you want, with a player option on the third year,” Mannix predicted.
Mannix believes that Kuminga’s management will sort something out with Golden State, and he’s not the only one to think so. Clutch Points’ Brett Siegel had earlier claimed that a short-term deal would be beneficial to both parties and is the likeliest solution.
Siegel also pointed out that there simply wasn’t a market for Kuminga right now. Besides, with high-ranking members of the Warriors, including owner Joe Lacob, wanting him back, it’s only a matter of time.
According to reports, the competing teams expect Kuminga to return to the market sometime before the trade deadline in February.
