The Golden State Warriors have been much maligned for their puzzling offseason. To date, the Warriors have yet to sign a free agent or make a trade and have fewer than 10 players on their active roster just weeks before training camp. The Jonathan Kuminga facsico has held the Warriors back from making any moves despite being linked to Al Horford. Kuminga, a restricted free agent, remains unsigned even after two restricted free agents, Cam Thomas and Josh Giddey, reached deals to return to their teams.
Despite sign-and-trade interest from multiple teams, most notably the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, nothing has materialized. The Warriors even turned down a sign-and-trade offer from the Kings that would have netted them Malik Monk. That begs the question, what gives? According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, Warriors owner Joe Lacob's perception of Kuminga and the fear of the 21-year-old forward becoming a star elsewhere has influenced the Warriors' approach.
"Joe Lacob is just, like, eternally in Love with Jonathan Kuminga, and there is a sense from some people involved that there's a real reluctance not only to obviously finally kind of quit him, if you will... What if Kuminga blows up and is a total star?"
Amick noted that this fear is even more significant if Kuminga blossoms with the rival and historically less successful Kings. Regardless, this doesn't make the Warriors' strategy any more logical. In fact, it shows the opposite.
The Warriors' Kuminga approach is illogical
The Warriors and Kuminga have had a tumultuous four-year relationship, which included him falling out of the Warriors' rotation in the playoffs last season. According to ESPN's Anthony Slater and Shams Charania, the Warriors' most recent offer for Kuminga is a three-year, $75.2 million deal with a team option in the third season. This comes after a previous two-year, $45 million offer, which also came with a team option, and the Warriors asked Kuminga to waive his inherited no-trade clause.
Of course, it's understandable why Kuminga doesn't want the Warriors to be able to control his fate, and these deals aren't in his best interest. Kuminga is a talented scorer, averaging 15.3 points last season. He has great size and some positional versatility at 6-foot-8, a skill set that, in theory, could complement Steph Curry nicely. But it's tough to evaluate his true value and impact on a winning team based on his decision-making and poor shooting.
Still, the Warriors must decide if they believe in Kuminga or if it's time to move on.
There's clearly some level of disconnect between the organization and ownership. Head coach Steve Kerr doesn't believe in Kuminga, as evidenced by his inconsistent role with the team. General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. doesn't believe in Kuminga based on what he's offered him and the fact that he didn't draft him. However, Lacob's perspective and the fear of Kuminga thriving elsewhere are clearly influencing the Warriors' decision-making.
Currently, the Warriors are sitting on the fence. They don't believe in him enough to give him a sizable contract that isn't team-controlled. But they believe in him enough not to accept sign-and-trade offers that would benefit the team.
One way or another, the Warriors must make a clear stance, or else Kuminga could simply take the qualifying offer and leave for nothing as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Ironically, the Warriors' fear of him blossoming elsewhere could be even worse than ever imagined in this scenario.