Jonathan Kuminga addressed the extension talks of the lack thereof with the Golden State Warriors in an interview with The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami.
“I haven’t really got into it that much,” Kuminga told Kawakami. “I don’t want to step my foot off track. I’m focusing on how can I be great? How can I help something? The better you play, the more you do things, everything’s going to open up itself.”
“So I’m not worried about things like that because I know who I am, I know myself. At the end of the day, it’s just having an opportunity, a chance to go out there and prove. And just waiting for the moment. It’s God’s plan, so I’m not even tripping or thinking about it day to day. Whenever it happens, it’s going to happen.”
Kuminga and the Warriors have until October 31 to strike a deal. Otherwise, the rising star will become a restricted free agent after this season.
The 21-year-old Kuminga is seeking a max deal — similar to the $224 million over five years his draft classmate Franz Wagner of Orlando Magic and Scottie Barnes of Toronto Raptors received, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.
Warriors Not Inclined to Offer Jonathan Kuminga Max Deal
However, the Warriors “aren’t currently prepared to give Kuminga a max extension or anything that stretches too close to that $44.8 million annual salary,” per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.
“There have been tentative extension discussions between the sides, league sources said, but a clear divide remains,” Slater wrote.
Part of the reason the Warriors are reluctant to extend Kuminga this offseason is because of the poison pill, according to Slater, which will make salary matching complicated in case they would need to include their young forward in star trade if the opportunity arises toward the February trade deadline.
Jonathan Kuminga’s Patient Approach
Unlike last season, when Kuminga showed his impatience, particularly about his lack of playing time under Warriors coach Steve Kerr, this time, the fourth-year forward is taking a patient approach when it comes to his extension talks with the team that drafted him.
“Everybody’s got their time when God opens their doors,” Kuminga told Kawakami. “My door isn’t open yet. At some point, it’s going to be open. Obviously, soon or anytime, I know they’re going to be open. If you look at what other people are getting or doing or having, it’s going to slow you down. So, I’m not trying to slow down. Try to keep doing what I always do, you know?”
With the team again loaded with veterans even after Klay Thompson and Chris Paul left in the offseason, Kerr would be facing the same roster crunch that kept Kuminga frustrated in the first half of last season.
After The Athletic reported Kuminga “has lost faith” in Kerr in January, their once-frosty relationship was smoothed out over a meeting.
Kerr inserted Kuminga in the starting lineup. And the Warriors’ former lottery pick took off.
Kuminga averaged 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 46 games as a starter, as he often looked as the team’s second-best scoring option behind franchise star Stephen Curry.
If Kuminga can take another leap this season, he could have a strong case to merit the rookie max extension next summer.
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
