Jonathan Kuminga is eligible to sign a rookie extension with the Golden State Warriors this offseason but it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting a max deal. According to NBA insider Brett Siegel, Kuminga looks likely to get a five-year deal worth around $140-$155 million.
“The Warriors will likely be looking to offer Jonathan Kuminga an extension ‘in the ballpark of $140-$155M.'”
Kuminga is eligible to sign a max extension worth $225 million, the deal that fellow 2021 draft picks Scottie Barnes and Franz Wagner just got this offseason. The Warriors don’t appear to believe he has done enough to warrant them giving him that deal, though.
Kuminga did have the best season of his NBA career in 2023-24, averaging 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. The jump in production was thanks to head coach Steve Kerr finally giving the 21-year-old a bigger role and he showed he could deliver when given more opportunities.
What the uptick in Kuminga’s production did do, though, is put the Warriors in a bit of a difficult position this offseason. Giving a player anything close to a max deal after just one good season isn’t something any team would like to do, but they then risk alienating him if they don’t.
That’s especially the case when it comes to Kuminga and the Warriors, as it hasn’t been all roses and sunshine since they selected him with the seventh pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. He found playing time hard to come by in his first two seasons and was not happy about it, at all.
His frustrations appeared to hit a boiling point in January earlier this year, as a report surfaced that stated Kuminga had lost faith in Kerr after being benched for the final 18 minutes of a game against the Denver Nuggets. He had recorded 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in just under 19 minutes and was understandably upset not to get back into the game.
Kuminga did get a whole lot of playing time after that report came out, but the fact that it took something like that, wasn’t ideal, to say the least. So, as I mentioned, there is a risk of alienating him if the offer is well below what he wants, and by the looks of it, it is.
Siegel stated that Kuminga’s camp will seek the max and he isn’t the only one reporting that. On the No Cap Room podcast, NBA insider Jake Fischer also said that the youngster and his representatives want the max.
“Jonathan Kuminga is entering the final year of his rookie deal where the word around the league from various sources is that Kuminga and his representation are looking for a full max extension, which as we just talked about with Brandon Ingram and Jamal Murray and whoever, like if you’re not an absolute All-Star, Scottie Barnes type of guy for Toronto, Lauri Markkanen for Utah you know, Trae Young for Atlanta back in the day, because look at what happened to Trae Young and Atlanta since then, it’s really hard to get that number.”
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Time is slowly but surely running out for the two sides to agree on a deal, as the deadline is the start of the 2024-25 season. If the Warriors are not able to sign Kuminga by that point, he will become a restricted free agent in 2025. They would then be forced to match any deal that comes his way if they want to retain him.
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