Prior to opening night, the Golden State Warriors agreed to a three-year, $39 million extension with Moses Moody, the No. 14 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The same cannot be said for Jonathan Kuminga, the No. 7 pick in that class. As a result of not signing an extension ahead of the Oct. 21 deadline, Kuminga will now be a restricted free agent after the season.
Kuminga has had an interesting start to his career, and what will happen with him in the future is just as fascinating. Will he end up re-signing with the Warriors after all next summer? Per Jake Fischer, the Warriors will be “happy to pay” Kuminga “top dollar” if he can show more consistency.
If he can’t, will another team come in for him, either via trade this season or in free agency? He does have suitors, according to Fischer, who stated that both the Brooklyn Nets have shown initial interest.
“The Nets are going to be a stalking horse for everyone,” Fischer said. “There’s already been rumblings of Brooklyn potentially willing to throw a big offer sheet at Jonathan Kuminga.”
The Nets, who project as one of the worst teams in the league this season, are in desperate need of young talent. They will have plenty of cap space next summer, and would have no problem offering Kuminga a big deal to entice him to move to the East Coast.
Kuminga, still only 22, won a championship with the Warriors in his rookie season, and played some meaningful minutes early in that playoff run. Since then, he’s had some very impressive moments and stretches, but has also lost Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s trust at times. Due to his poor 3-point shooting, he’s also not a great fit alongside Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney in the Warriors’ frontcourt.
“I think JK if you look at his three years here, I think it would look like the stock market over 10 years,” Kerr said before the season. “There have been some dips for sure, moments where I sat him, didn’t play him and took him out of the rotation. But from when he walked in three years ago until now, he is dramatically better. And that’s how this is supposed to go. Success and improvement are never linear at this level but especially for someone with so little experience.
“He’s still so young, if this were 20 years ago, 30 years ago, he would have just finished his fourth year of college or his rookie year in the NBA,” Kerr continued. “When you throw all that stuff in, I love where JK is right now because he’s gotten so much better, but he still has room for growth which is the exciting part. So, I’ve talked to him about this upcoming year and what the expectations are. I’m excited about it, he’s excited about it, he loves it here, he’s told me that.”
Kuminga averaged 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on 52.9% shooting in 74 games last season, 46 of which came as a starter. He has gotten off to a frustrating start this campaign, however. Though he’s started the first two games — both wins — he’s only played 37 total minutes and has as many turnovers (four) as made shots. The Warriors will need to see more than that, and so will any other team, before they offer him serious money.
