Jonathan Cuminga and the Golden State Warriors continue to be caught up in negotiations over his next contract.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater, Warriors recently launched an offer of $75.2 million for up to three years, from two to $45 million, but they hope to make their final year a team option.
However, unless the annual figure is close to $30 million, Kuminga camp reportedly disagrees with team options. They would be willing to go as low as $20 million a year if they acquired a player option in the final year of their contract.
The warriors have since not wanted to break up with Kuminga on sign-and-trade offers from the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.
Not only was the Warriors not willing to give Kuminga the type of deal he wanted, but they were also strict during his development process.
Zack Lowe appeared on the Zack Lowe Show and talked about how Cuminga fell into a tricky situation when he joined the Warriors in 2021.
“Jonathan Cuminga has walked towards a very tricky situation for his rookie. He needs a veteran team, a winning team, a finesse team, they need someone like him.
“And I think Jonathan Cuminga sometimes opposed it, going his own path and taking shots of regret.
“I think he also made an underrated effort to fit in.
“He tried to learn Steph Curry’s PIN screen. I’ll bring it back. Here’s the screen. Give it to Draymond. Move the attack like that. Pass it to Steph.
“He tried to learn all of that. He wasn’t playing selfishly. He was doing his best.
“I think the tolerance of mistakes by the coaching staff was really low for him as a young player on that team, and I think I am being honest.
“I think he should have had more freedom for the younger players who are trying to play through mistakes, he play through bad shot choices and perform everything.”
Last season, along with the Warriors, Kuminga averaged 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds, shooting 45.4% from the field and 30.5% from downtown. However, he was limited to just 47 games due to injuries and a lineup decision from head coach Steve Kerr.
Ultimately, the potential potential of Kuminga’s All-Stars depends on in a consistent few minutes and plays a bigger role in the offense. This was fully on display in the playoffs. Cuminga was limited in the first round against the Houston Rockets, but he played a bigger role against the Minnesota Timberwolves when Stephen Curry collapsed with a hamstring injury.
His breakout performance was Game 3 of that series, with Kuminga scoring 30 points in 36 minutes. That stretch proved that Kuminga can contribute at a high level if given a fair opportunity.
Joe La Cobb, the general manager of the Warriors, drafted Kuminga over Franz Wagner.
Now the Warriors have to decide whether they want to pay and develop Kuminga, or whether they want to all-in with the 22-year-old on another championship run.