Jonathan Kuminga's Performance Stalls the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors, fresh off their offseason acquisition of a versatile forward to bolster their roster around core stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, find themselves in a complex financial situation.
The Warriors could leave one roster spot open to maintain flexibility for in-season moves, but a key decision looms over the future of Jonathan Kuminga. The team has offered him a two-year, $45 million contract, but Kuminga has shown little interest due to a team option for the second season and a no-trade clause.
If Kuminga accepts his qualifying offer of $7.9 million, he will have full veto rights on any trade this season and become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. From a hard-cap perspective, accepting the qualifying offer would be optimal for the Warriors, but losing him as an unrestricted free agent would not be ideal.
The Warriors' financial situation is problematic for signing Kuminga, as they currently have $170.5 million in salary on their books. If Kuminga accepts his qualifying offer, the Warriors would have nearly $178.5 million on their books before filling out the rest of their roster. This leaves little room for manoeuvre, especially considering they need to sign at least five more players before the start of the NBA season.
Depending on their financial decisions, the Warriors could use a portion of the non-taxpayer MLE to pay more to Al Horford than the taxpayer MLE or give slight raises to players on minimum deals. However, if they sign Kuminga and use the taxpayer mid-level exception, they will become hard-capped at the second apron. If they spend the taxpayer MLE on Horford and sign five veteran-minimum contracts, they would have nearly $187.7 million in total salary.
The Warriors are roughly $25.0 million below the $195.9 million first apron and nearly $36.9 million below the $207.8 million second apron. If they use the taxpayer MLE before resolving Kuminga's future, they'd leave themselves at risk of getting poached by other teams.
The Brooklyn Nets are the only team with cap space at the moment, but they could decide to give Kuminga an offer sheet if the Warriors were limited in how much they could match. This adds another layer of complexity to the Warriors' decision-making process.
Kuminga has until Oct. 1 to accept his qualifying offer. The clock is ticking for the Warriors as they navigate this intricate financial landscape to secure their roster for the upcoming season. With only nine players signed to standard contracts, the Warriors' roster is far from complete. The decisions they make in the coming days will significantly impact their competitiveness for a deep playoff run.
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