With the face-off between the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga reaching Day 87 on Thursday, it’s apparent both sides are wading waist-deep through tedious self-harm. Their summer denouement never materialized, and they’ve plodded into an autumn of annoyance.
With both sides being salty if Kuminga signs the qualifying offer, the surest path to mutual contentment would be a sign-and-trade deal, with the Warriors replacing Kuminga with a player better befitting their win-now vibe and with JK landing in a place that would give him the freedom to chase stardom. Happy them, happy him.
Sign-and-trade options were pondered two months ago and then abandoned. But with training camp beginning next week, urgency induces revisiting. Trade conversations are restarting, according to two league sources.
Failing that outcome, however, conceivably would nudge both sides toward the Blame Game, in which substantive dialogue is overrun by fingers pointing in both directions. As we know from our national discourse, this produces few winners and many losers.
Golden State CEO Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy would be subjected to jobs and darts, as would Kuminga and his representative, Aaron Turner. No doubt a few strays would find their way to Warriors coach Steve Kerr. This is the nightmare scenario.
If Kuminga returns, regardless of contract details, the only way to avoid the toxicity of the blame game is for the Warriors to spend the first month of the season playing well enough to raise “caution” signs around the NBA. Get to Thanksgiving Day with a record no worse than 15-5 and decorated vets Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green productive and in sync. See the reserves punishing opposing second units and Kuminga contributing to success, flashing glorious smiles to convey contentment, if not bliss.
That would give Kuminga and the Warriors a layer of grace, likely enough to squelch the concerns certain to surround them when the ball tips off for the 2025-26 NBA season opener on Oct. 17.
“If he comes back to Golden State, and they get off to a hot start, this could work out,” one Western Conference front office executive told NBC Sports Bay Area. “A lot of things would have to go right, but winning early in the season works for both sides. Maybe Kuminga’s value goes up, and the Warriors – considering the clauses in the contract – can decide whether move him or keep him.”
On a roster with four starters age 35 or older, and athleticism below the league average, Kuminga’s strengths are at a premium with Golden State. He’s quick off his feet, speedy from baseline to baseline, and has enough agility and strength to defend at least three positions.
“There’s a place for him on [the Warriors],” an Eastern Conference scout said. “He’s the only one they have who you know can match up against the other team’s better athletes. Teams in the West like Houston and Minnesota and OKC. Even Portland now.”
Dunleavy entered the summer hoping Kuminga, as a restricted free agent ready to move on, was the chip to lead to someone who might have similar attributes but is more compatible with Kerr’s offense on one end and the team’s defensive schemes on the other. There was interest from at least three teams: Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings.
None of the proposals put forth by those potential partners satisfied the Warriors, which is why they pulled back. That was in July into August, and now it’s September. There is incentive to bring this impasse to a conclusion, as they want no part of opening training camp under a drama cloud.
Or, for that matter, the prospect of Kuminga being less than enthused about coming off the bench in a Warriors jersey.
“I keep saying this: I just think if he is this important [to the Warriors], how do you not have him come in in a good mental space?” Turner wondered last week on the “Dubs Talk” podcast. “If he’s not important, let him go. But if he is this important, how do you bring him back not feeling good?
“It’s very confusing to me because it is not how you win in the NBA.”
As we said, there are only two ways this ends well for all parties. A sign-and-trade deal in the coming days, which both sides prefer. Or should that fail, a momentum-generating start that potentially increases the bargaining power of both the Warriors and Kuminga.
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