The Golden State Warriors will save nearly $70 million in luxury tax money if Jonathan Kuminga accepts his $7.9 million qualifying offer ahead of the 2025-26 season, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania.
Although the Warriors would ideally prefer for Kuminga to accept their three-year, $75.2 million offer, the one silver lining to his drastic step would be financial savings.
“But there are side benefits to that overall net negative that are being considered as part of the equation, sources said. Kuminga returning on the qualifying offer would allow the Warriors to remain below the first apron and, as a repeater tax team, save nearly $70 million in luxury tax money,” Slater and Charania reported on Sept. 15.
They would still have Kuminga, a rotation wing, for a season on a cheap deal and would maintain his Bird rights, giving them the opportunity to revisit a long-term deal next summer or get value out of him in a sign-and-trade scenario, similar to what they did when Klay Thompson departed for Dallas. The Warriors worked Thompson into a six-team deal that delivered them Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson.
Warriors Already Under 1st Apron
The Warriors own the 26th-highest payroll in the league entering the 2025-26 season, a shocking number for a team that was consistently in the top three since 2015. Warriors governor Joe Lacob in 2024 said that the Warriors’ No. 1 priority was to remain under the tax aprons, which they have succeeded in doing. If they were to shave off another $70 million from their tax bill, they would remain $25 million below the 1st apron.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks previously explained why the Warriors have smartly kept their books clear for the 2027 offseason when Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III could all potentially become free agents, allowing the team to rebuild.
“A team featuring three players 35 or older and under contract for only the next two seasons should be a cause of concern,” Marks wrote. But if the 20-7 record after the All-Star break and first-round playoff series win against Houston were indications, then there is some staying power for Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler III and the rest of the Warriors’ roster. Because of the great unknown post-Curry in 2027, this ranking is likely the high-water mark with this group.”
Warriors Rejected Several Trades
Kuminga and his camp have reportedly insisted that they receive a player option on either a two- or three-year deal, but the Warriors have hesitated. According to ESPN, the Warriors offered the Congolese player a three-year, $75.2 million deal with a player option on the third year, which Kuminga turned down last week.
During the back-and-forth process, the Warriors rejected multiple sign-and-trade offers from the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, per Charania and Slater. Kuminga and his agent, Aaron Turner, are reportedly still holding out hope for a sign-and-trade.
“But there’s a reason he hasn’t taken the qualifying offer yet. Turner and Kuminga are holding out in case something more appealing — via contract offer or sign-and-trade — materializes, in part because of a belief in how imperative it is for the Warriors to avoid having him on the qualifying offer.
“If Kuminga returns on it, he can veto any trade next season and — on an $8 million expiring contract without Bird rights attached — his market value is greatly diminished even if he were to approve a trade. The Warriors will lose control of a crucial roster-building tool during one of Curry’s final contention seasons, walk a potential major distraction into the locker room and be at great risk of watching Kuminga, their 2021 No. 7 pick, walk away for nothing next summer.”
How Much Money Warriors Will Save if Kuminga Signs QO