ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday on NBA Today that the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings made “concrete offers” to the Golden State Warriors for restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga.
Jonathan Kuminga Reportedly In No Rush To Sign New Deal
Charania said the free agency stalemate “could continue much longer than this month” since Kuminga isn’t interested in Golden State’s offers.
“He did tell me though that he is in absolutely no rush on doing a deal with the Warriors right now and he is not accepting their current offers,” Charania added.
Restricted free agents rarely ever accept the qualifying offer, a one-year contract offer that allows the team the right to match any offer sheet and lets the player hit the market again in the future.
If Kuminga opts for the qualifying offer, the 6-foot-8 wing would receive $7.9 million for one season. He would also be able to veto any trade with Golden State before becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Qualifying Offer Would Pay Kuminga Below Market Value
A qualifying offer would be useless for both the Warriors and Kuminga, as it would pay him well below his market value and Golden State may struggle to field a competitive squad.
Golden State’s intent is to sign Kuminga so they can trade him, but the qualifying offer would make it harder because his salary would not be high enough to match other contracts.
Stephen Curry ($59. 6 million) and Jimmy Butler ($54.12 million) are the two highest-paid players on the Warriors, with a combined salary of $113.7 million in 2025-26, per Spotrac.
After Draymond Green ($25.89 million), Moses Moody ($11.57 million) is the only other player on the roster making more than $10 million.
Then there’s Buddy Hield, who is set to earn $9.21 million next season.
NBA Executive Believes Kuminga Situation Could Destroy Team
According to The Athletic’s Fred Katz, the site recently polled 16 people who work in rival front offices, asking them what they believe would constitute a “fair” contract for Kuminga.
Answers from those executives, who were granted anonymity, ranged from $17 million to $25 million in average annual value. The mean average annual value in the poll was $20.4 million, according to Katz.
Per NBA insider Jake Fischer, Kuminga is demanding at least $25 million per season. One league executive explained why a qualifying offer would be the wrong move.
“If he takes the qualifying offer, the Warriors are f—ked from a team-building standpoint, because they need to get him on a deal where they can trade him. That’s the key for them,” the executive said.
Kuminga, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft, averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 24.3 minutes per contest in 47 games (10 starts) last season.
