By Hoops Wire,Sam Amico
Copyright yardbarker
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga remains a restricted free agent, and his agent, Aaron Turner, is making it clear that the qualifying offer is very much on the table.
“There’s a lot of upside,” Turner said on ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast. “He wants to pick where he wants to go. So the QO is real for sure.”
The Warriors’ latest proposal is a three-year, $75.2 million deal with a team option on the final season. That would guarantee Kuminga $48.3 million over the first two years — but Turner said his client isn’t willing to settle for another team-controlled deal.
“If (the Warriors) want to win now, if you want a guy that’s happy and treated fairly who is a big part of this team moving forward, you give him the player option,” Turner explained. “You don’t get a perfect deal, but you get a pretty good deal, and he gets to feel respected about what he gets and we all move on and worry about winning, helping (Stephen Curry).”
Golden State has refused to include a player option, which is why Kuminga sees appeal in taking the one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer. That would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer and let him choose his next team outright.
Turner isn’t shy about the upside of that scenario.
“If JK wants to take (the qualifying offer), it does have upside, right?” he said. “You’re not getting traded. You’re going to have unrestricted free agency. There’ll be six teams with cap space for the clear-cut under-35 top wing on the market. So there’s a lot of upside.”
Other suitors are already circling. Turner confirmed Kuminga has spoken with the Kings –who reportedly offered him a three-year, $63 million deal with a player option — and the Suns, who were willing to pay him in the $80-88 million range over four years.
Neither offer turned into a trade package the Warriors liked, but the interest is real.
Kuminga isn’t opposed to staying in Golden State, but Turner pointed out the obvious. He’d be battling Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green for minutes, as well as potentially Al Horford.
“No guarantees he starts any games,” Turner said. “He may, but we don’t know. Finishing games, night to night, who knows? It depends if (coach Steve Kerr) has a combination he likes and it’s working. Maybe he sticks with it. Maybe he doesn’t.
“You’re going to have to not have the ball as much. You’re going to have to stay away from developing certain parts of your game, or wanting to lean into certain parts of your game, especially shooting any type of mid-range jump shots, which is something JK does work on.
“But in the Golden State offense and the role he’s in, that’s not going to be a big shot that he’s really going to be able to take much.”
With media day less than two weeks away, the standoff is hitting crunch time.
Turner said Kuminga would even consider a shorter two-year contract if the Warriors allowed him to keep the no-trade clause that comes with it.
“Two years from now, if you want to keep him, you’ll have his Bird rights (even if you give him a player option),” Turner said. “You treat him good and you show him the plan, then maybe you keep him.
“(The player option contract) is not perfect, but I don’t think anybody can get everything they really want. If you ask JK, he wants Jalen Green‘s deal. He’s not getting that. He wants Jalen Johnson‘s deal. You’re not getting that. If the Warriors, we feel like, pick the front end (of the contract), if that number needs to be lower to stay under a second apron, (it’s a) player option.
“Or if it’s about really controlling the back end of the deal, move the number up, shake your roster up and you can have a team option. Or, the hybrid model, let him keep his no-trade clause.”