A s Jonathan Kuminga‘s role with the Golden State Warriors drastically diminished heading into the NBA playoffs, rumors are ripe that he’s on his way out of the Bay Area.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley predicted that Kuminga will be sign-and-traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
Buckley’s prediction came on the heels of Kuminga’s two straight DNP-CD (did not play-coach’s decision) in the Warriors’ most important games of the season to date — their regular-season finale overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 6 seed and their play-in win over the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 7 seed.
In the aftermath of the fallout between Kuminga and Golden State coach Steve Kerr, Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard opined that the former lottery pick and the Warriors are likely headed to a divorce this summer.
“The likely situation is [Jonathan Kuminga]’s not going to be on the Warriors next season,” Kawakami said on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs” show. “Things can change, but all things being equal, it was probably going to be a tricky situation for him to come back to the Warriors anyway.”
Nets Unlikely to Throw Offer Sheet at Jonathan Kuminga But…
Kuminga will enter restricted free agency this summer after his four-year, $24.8 million rookie deal expires after this season.
As it currently stands, only the Brooklyn Nets loom as the Warriors’ biggest threat. The Nets are projected to have the most cap room, between $45 million and $60 million, and the ability to throw a large offer sheet to Kuminga.
However, a rival NBA executive told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that the Nets have indicated they are going to use their cap room most likely on trades.
“They’ve sent the message that if they do anything major with their space, it’s likely going to be through trade, not signings,” the rival executive told Windhorst. “Even if that trade doesn’t happen this summer, they’ll want to keep their options open.”
With the Nets cautious in throwing large offer sheets, the Kuminga and other restricted free agents have limited leverage, according to Windhorst, which an NBA agent said it’s more dire than that.
“Actually, it’s no leverage,” the prominent agent told Windhorst. “I’ve prepared my clients for a free agent recession this summer. Next year will be different, the cap will be going up, and teams will clean up their books as they deal with the new spending rules. So you may have to wait and try again.”
Kuminga might have to settle for less than the $35 million annual salary his camp pursued in failed extension talks with the Warriors. But going to Brooklyn will provide him the playing time and starting role he desperately craves, which Kerr is unwilling to give.
Jonathan Kuminga’s Camp is ‘Exhausted’
ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Wednesday, April 16, that Kuminga’s camp is “exhausted” by the disrespect after his latest benching.
Kerr has not indicated Kuminga will be part of the Warriors’ rotation when they open their first-round playoff series against the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets.
Kuminga averaged 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in four games against the Rockets this season. It’s Kuminga’s second-highest scoring average against any single opponent this season.
“They need him in this series because you think about the athletes that Houston has,” Charania said of Kuminga on the “NBA Today” on Wednesday. “This is why they drafted Jonathan Kuminga. This is why they put so much trust in him. But back-to-back games in this play-in tournament, Steve Kerr essentially tells Jonathan Kuminga, ‘You are not in our rotation. You are not going to be playing.’
“And this is something that Jonathan Kuminga has been really immune to over the course of his career with Steve Kerr and the Warriors. His side is exhausted by a lot of disrespect in a lot of ways.”
