Free agency begins on June 30, and the Sacramento Kings are still linked to someone that the franchise was interested in last offseason.
The Atlanta Hawks declined forward Jonathan Kuminga’s $24.3 million option for the 2026-27 season. This move makes him a free agent for the first time in his career, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Kuminga, 23, is expected to receive interest in free agency this offseason. The Sacramento Kings are expected to pursue a forward this summer, Marc J. Spears of Andscape mentioned.
“The Sacramento Kings had strong interest in Jonathan Kuminga before he was dealt from the Golden State Warriors to the Atlanta Hawks and are expected to be interested in him now as a free agent,” the insider wrote.
Jonathan Kuminga’s Fallout With the Warriors
GettyAfter getting traded from the Golden State Warriors to the Atlanta Hawks at February’s deadline, the Hawks elected to decline the forward’s $24.3 million team option for the 2026-27 season. Kuminga will now become an unrestricted free agent. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Jonathan Kuminga was involved in a fallout with the team that drafted him with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors. The forward, who turns 24 in October, was unable to agree on a contract extension with the franchise.
The Warriors dealt Kuminga, along with Buddy Hield, to the Atlanta Hawks in February in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis at the NBA’s trade deadline.
The Sacramento Kings were also in the trade mix but ultimately lost the sweepstakes for the forward in 2025-26.
Sacramento is still interested in the 23-year-old forward and is expected to continue its pursuit of Kuminga this summer.
In 36 games with the Warriors and Hawks last season, Kuminga averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 46.3/33.3/72.4 shooting splits.
Kuminga was on the Warriors roster in the franchise’s championship-winning 2022 season.
Jonathan Kuminga Looking for a $30 Million-Per-Year Deal
GettyDuring Jonathan Kuminga’s contract dispute last summer, the forward was “willing to do a team option deal if the Warriors move the per-year number up toward $30 million or take the current deals on the table if they include a player option,” ESPN’s Anthony Slater wrote. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
In the midst of Jonathan Kuminga’s contract fiasco with the Golden State Warriors, he would decline every contract the franchise offered him.
In the end, both sides eventually agreed on a two-year, $48.5 million deal in September 2025.
After Atlanta declined his team option for 2026-27, Kuminga will now enter free agency for the first time in his career. He expressed what kind of deal he was seeking last offseason, said ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
“(Aaron) Turner has said Kuminga would be willing to do a team option deal if the Warriors move the per-year number up toward $30 million or take the current deals on the table if they include a player option,” the insider wrote back in September.
It’s unclear whether Kuminga will seek a deal at a similar number this offseason. If Sacramento pursues the former Warriors and Hawks forward, the process may be eventful.
A deal close to $30 million annually is difficult to picture after a year filled with drama.
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