Negotiations between Golden State and Jonathan Kuminga, a restricted free agent, have stopped; according to reports, the team’s best offer is $40 million over two years.
Kuminga’s team has not accepted the short-term offer and is still looking at sign-and-trade options, according to Marc Stein’s article on The Stein Line.
With less than two months until training camp begins, the 22-year-old forward has yet to sign a contract.
The Warriors are offering Kuminga a qualifying offer of $7.9 million, which he is free to accept before October 1.
He would have very little leverage as a restricted free agent if he accepted that deal, which would bind him to a one-year contract with an inherent no-trade clause.
Golden State has been reluctant to make a longer-term or higher-value offer, even if internal belief in Kuminga’s long-term potential exists.
The Warriors have investigated sign-and-trade situations, but have not made much headway, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic.
The largest obstacle is “base-year compensation” regulations, which affect wage matching in possible agreements and reduce flexibility.
Sacramento and Phoenix continue to be among the most aggressive suitors, league sources told The Athletic.
Golden State is apparently demanding a first-round selection in any return agreement, though.
That puts the Suns at a disadvantage since, under the current cap restrictions, they do not have a tradable first-round pick.
Despite the league’s increased interest, teams are reluctant to spend a lot of money before they know if Kuminga would re-sign.
One Western Conference executive classified Kuminga’s value gap between contract expectations and trade demand as the largest among this year’s restricted free agents.
To fill the void, some league officials proposed two-year, $45 million contracts or three-year, $53.5 million contracts with a player option.
Golden State may be able to maintain future cap flexibility and a tradeable contract with the aid of those arrangements.
Following the All-Star break, Kuminga showed improvement with more minutes and efficiency, averaging 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in the previous season.
