The Golden State Warriors’ three best players — future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green — have weighed in on the team’s protracted contract negotiations with restricted free agent power forward Jonathan Kuminga.
Things have gotten rough lately. With a shade under a week-and-a-half remaining for Kuminga to make a decision on his $7.9 million qualifying offer for 2025-26, Golden State appears to be getting a bit desperate to sign the 6-foot-8 pro to increasingly better deals. A $7.9 million contract would give him a trade clause and won’t net nearly the same quality player in a trade return, while a rate more commensurate with Kuminga’s upside could.
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The Warriors increased their prior two-year, $45 million offer to a three-season, $75.2 million deal for Kuminga, per Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of ESPN.
Per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, all three of Curry, Butler and Green have urged Golden State’s “brain trust” (presumably its front office, led by Mike Dunleavy Jr., and owner Joe Lacob) to come to terms on an agreement with the 22-year-old.
Siegel indicates that the trio all hope to have Kuminga back, suggesting that the Warriors team’s apparent reticence for a reunion is not shared by its most important players.
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In 47 healthy bouts for the 48-34 Warriors, Kuminga averaged 15.3 points on .454/.305/.668 shooting splits, 4.6 boards, 2.2 dimes, and 0.8 steals a night.
Siegel clarifies that, while it had been reported previously that Butler was reaching out to Dunleavy and co. about finalizing a Kuminga deal ahead of training camp, the reality is that Curry and Green are also passionate about this.
“Business is business, and Golden State’s veterans understand that,” Siegel notes. “But at the same time, Kuminga has signaled that he is willing to help the team with a smaller initial cap figure, and all he wants in return is the respect to decide on his own future down the road.”
In terms of the timing of these talks, Siegel indicates that Curry, Butler and Green have been discussing Kuminga’s future with the franchise since at least August, long before the Warriors did ultimately get more aggressive and increase their offer.
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