The Golden State Warriors might be in a very different situation this summer had they selected someone else with their first 2021 lottery pick.
Instead, they're saddled with Jonathan Kuminga. They've tendered the 22-year-old restricted free agent a lucrative three-season, $75.2 million deal with a player option for the final year, per ESPN's Shams Charania and Anthony Slater.
Inside the stalemate between the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga – a Joe Lacob face-to-face with the former No. 7 pick, new offers and counteroffers, and where the past and present leaves the future.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 15, 2025
On ESPN with @anthonyVslater: https://t.co/OX4qrdRhMl
Kuminga is still said to be leaning towards simply picking up his $7.9 million player option and picking his next destination in unrestricted free agency next summer. Neither Kumingan nor the Warriors seem particularly fond of each other at this time, so it's possible that even this new three-year offer exists to be traded for more win-now pieces.
Jonathan Kuminga's fraught summer
That's not to say the 22-year-old forward isn't an intriguing, talented player, who can potentially grow into being a solid starter on a playoff team. But it appears the window for that is virtually closed in Golden State.
Future Hall of Fame Warriors forwards Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green recently reached out to Kuminga to gauge his state of mind, per Charania and Slater.
It's all a bit of a mess, as the Kuminga situation is holding up several free agent signing decisions that supposedly are still on the table for Golden State. Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II are apparently still waiting for a green light from the Warriors.
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Golden State could have avoided all this — and brought in a better player — in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Charania and Slater report that team governor Joe Lacob ultimately pushed the Warriors front office into selecting Kuminga with the team's No. 7 pick, over eventual Orlando Magic standout forward Franz Wagner.
“Lacob has been a central figure in Kuminga's NBA career since the beginning," the ESPN duo write. "[Then-team president] Bob Myers was team president and [current-president Mike] Dunleavy [Jr. was] assistant general manager when they drafted Kuminga in 2021. They gave the collective green light, but Lacob was a driving force in the selection when others, including a few on the coaching staff, voiced a Franz Wagner preference, sources said.”
Although Wagner, like Kuminga, has been an inconsistent 3-point shooter for the past two seasons, he's got the scoring and playmaking skillsets of a borderline All-Star on a rising Orlando squad. In 60 games last season, Wagner averaged 24.2 points on .463/.295/.871 shooting splits, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals a night.
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