Warriors make Jonathan Kuminga decision after $45 million rejection

Jonathan Kuminga seems likely to remain with the Warriors, at least for now. 

The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami reported on Monday that Golden State is planning for Kuminga to be on its roster at the start of the 2025-26 season, despite efforts to pull off a sign-and-trade to give him a fresh start elsewhere. 

“The word I got when I checked in with a Warriors source on Sunday: Kuminga won’t be traded this summer,” Kawakami wrote in a column published on Monday. “He’ll be back on the Warriors’ roster to start the season. And it’ll either come when he signs the Warriors’ offer or accepts the $7.9 million one-year qualifying offer.”

The deadline for Kuminga to sign his qualifying offer is Oct. 1 and he has indicated on social media that he would be willing to do it. 

In one post on his Instagram Story recently, Kuminga wrote, “I’ll bet on myself all day,” accompanied by a picture of him and his agent talking. 

He averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists last season.

The Warriors have looked into trying to pull off a sign-and-trade involving the restricted free agent, though it’s suggested in the column that it wasn’t the preferred option by the organization or team owner Joe Lacob. 

“But several sources have indicated that the Warriors have been unenthusiastic about the general idea of a Kuminga sign-and-trade from the outset,” Kawakami wrote. “The broad context is that Joe Lacob remains a fan of Kuminga’s and is determined to either keep the 22-year-old on the roster or get real value in return. And he’s willing to wait it out.”

The Kings and Suns have reportedly been interested in working out a deal, but the Warriors have not been interested in any of the packages they’ve received. 

There is still a standing offer of two years, $45 million Kuminga rejected previously due to the insistence of a team option for the second season and the Warriors wanting him to drop the built-in no-trade clause that would come with the deal.

While things do have a tendency to change as crunch time approaches, for now, Kuminga seems likely to start the new season with the Warriors.