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The Golden State Warriors have until October 21 to get an extension done for youngster Jonathan Kuminga. According to Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area, Kuminga is seeking a five-year, $224 million contract.
Bobby Marks of ESPN examined potential contract extensions before the deadline, highlighting Kuminga as one of the players who could be paid.
However, Marks would only offer him a five-year, $155 million deal, highlighting the need to stay under the luxury tax.
“Five years, $155 million. The extension starts at $31 million and is flat across each season,” Marks wrote on October 17. “Because of the expiring contracts of De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney, an extension for Kuminga has Golden State below the luxury tax next season.”
Regarding why an extension could happen, Marks added that Kuminga could believe there’s too much risk in passing up guaranteed money.
“If Kuminga evaluates the market and decides there is too much risk to pass up guaranteed money,” Marks wrote. “The only team that projects to have more than $30 million in cap space next offseason is Brooklyn. Kuminga would also be a restricted free agent, with Golden State having the right to match an offer sheet from an opposing team.”
Why the Warriors Might Be Hesitant in Giving Kuminga an Extension
The Golden State Warriors could be in a position to make a trade in the near future. After showing interest in Lauri Markkanen and others during the offseason, the Warriors have the assets to get a deal done in the season.
However, signing Kuminga to an extension could hurt the Warriors’ ability to facilitate a trade involving him. From a salary standpoint, the Warriors could find challenges in moving a contract for a significant amount of money.
“The other reason Golden State would exercise caution on extending Kuminga is it would lose a valuable trade chip. Kuminga does not have a six-month restriction and is still eligible to be traded prior to the Feb. 6 deadline.
“However, Kuminga’s potential salary in a trade becomes unbalanced due to the poison pill restriction,” Marks wrote. “For example, if Kuminga signed a five-year, $175 million extension, $7.6 million (the last year of his rookie scale contract) would be used as outgoing salary and $30 million (the average of his 2024-25 salary and extension) would count as incoming salary for the team he was traded to.”
Is Kuminga Worth $224 Million?
Kuminga has certainly improved his game over the past few years, but the sample size could become a potential issue in how the Golden State Warriors value him.
He played 26.4 minutes per night over 74 appearances in 2023-24, averaging 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.
As Marks alluded to, those numbers are comparable to those of other rookies who received a max extension, but the others have also done so for longer than one season.
Kuminga is a good player, and while he proved his value to the Warriors last year, $224 million would be a lot of money to pay a player who wasn’t even a full-time starter.
If the Warriors had another season to see if he continues to improve, the decision would be easier. However, that isn’t the case, and the front office now faces a challenging decision.
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