It took months, but the Golden State Warriors’ disgruntled 6-foot-7 NBA champion agreed to return to the Bay on Tuesday evening via a two-year, $48.5 million deal.
Although the 22-year-old is still unhappy with his role on Steve Kerr’s squad, he officially signed a new contract with the Stephen Curry-led Dubs after agreeing to a multi-year deal.
“The Golden State Warriors have re-signed forward Jonathan Kuminga,” the seven-time champions made public in a news release. “Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.”
“Kuminga, 22, averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes over 47 games (10 starts) with the Warriors last season.”
“In eight playoff games, Kuminga averaged 15.3 points per game on 48.4% shooting from the field and 40.0% from three-point range, scoring at least 20 points in each of the team’s last three games– including a playoff career-high 30 points in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals against Minnesota (Timberwolves).”
Kuminga hasn’t minced his words on his feelings towards the Warriors. The former lottery pick thinks highly of himself at this stage of his career, and believes the Dubs don’t value his skill set the same way they did when they selected him high in the 2021 NBA Draft.
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Kuminga wasn’t a part of Golden State’s late regular-season plans, as Kerr felt the organization could flourish with the Goma, DR Congo native on the bench.
Surprisingly, Kuminga didn’t check out when Golden State depended on him to serve as a spark plug against the Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs.
Stephen Curry’s untimely calf strain injury forced Kerr to readjust his lineups, which benefited Kuminga tremendously. The ex-five-star recruit averaged 20.8 points per game in the series, drilling 54.3% of his field goals and 42.1% of his long-range jumpers.
A consistent three-point jumper and much-improved decision-making could change the Warriors' perception of Kuminga moving forward.
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