It's About Time: The Standoff Between Jonathan Kuminga And The Warriors Has Finally Come To An End

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There's a saying in life, that deadlines spur action. That's something that rings true no matter what stage of life you may find yourself in. You can procrastinate or negotiate all you want, but eventually, there will come a time when a deadline will arrive, and once you get to that stage, you will finally act.

In the NBA world, that deadline is October 1st, 2025. On this day, a restricted free agent must make a decision as to whether or not they'll accept their qualifying offer. In the world of restricted free agents, the Jonathan Kuminga Saga was the highest profiled game of chicken, with both sides dug in to their respective positions. Kuminga wanted a player option as part of his deal, but the Warriors didn't want to give it to him. As a result, he threatened to pick up his option, which would be a disaster for the Warriors for a wide variety of reasons. As the entire offseason went on and Media Day arrived, Kuminga and the Warriors were still at an impasse.

But like they say, deadlines spur action.

And there you have it. Finally, the standoff has ended. Granted if you were paying attention to the Warriors season you knew a decision was coming once we started to get the official signings of Al Horford, Gary Payton II, and De'Anthony Melton. The Warriors couldn't make those moves until they knew Kuminga's price, so it's no surprise the Kuminga news dropped shortly after, and right before the 10/1 deadline.

I will say, the wording as Shams described it is pretty interesting. What does it mean "has a team option designated to be ripped up and renegotiated next summer"? What type of team option is that? So basically, it's more of a quasi-player option, but you're calling it a team option? My guess is that's the language they had to use in order for Kuminga to waive his no trade, but the problem there is now the Warriors can send him wherever they want. That's the leverage Kuminga had with his qualifying offer, but whatever.

It's also fair to say that the Warriors paid for the ability to trade him. They upped their offer, Kuminga gets a nice bump in short-term cash with the ability to re-negotiate next summer. Whether that will be with the Warriors or something else remains to be seen, but I can see why he took the deal. All his side kept talking about what Kuminga having control over his future, so now he gets a raise and the ability to control whatever happens down the road. Considering the Warriors needed to stop screwing around and get serious about their title run now that training camp has opened, it's a good thing that there was a resolution here, and things don't carry into the season. Hopefully, this brings out the best version of Kuminga, which the Warriors certainly are going to need

That is of course, if Steve Kerr actually gives him the chance. That's the underlying theme of this whole thing. Steve Kerr basically hates Kuminga's guts. I would say things haven't exactly been all butterflied and rainbows when it comes to the Kuminga/Steve Kerr dynamic. Given this is essentially a "prove it" year for Kuminga, it's going to be fascinating to see how this all works. The things that Kuminga is best at are also counterproductive to how the Warriors typically play. Given the age of their roster, it's pretty important that their young pieces all take leaps, especially Kuminga.

As we know, this team isn't the best at keeping drama from impacting their regular season, so there's a chance this is really only the beginning. The good news is that at least now the Warriors as a franchise don't have to worry about losing the asset for nothing, which was on the table if Kuminga picked up his QO. At least now they can trade him for 65 cents on the dollar at the deadline if they have to, and who knows, maybe they change their mind and don't rip up the team option for next summer, and they lock Kuminga in for one more year because Joe Lacob refuses to turn his key and pull the trigger on a trade.

But at the end of the day, the Warriors' front office avoided disaster. That's a win…..for now. The next challenge is not fucking up what comes next.