Joe Lacob: Warriors remain ‘100 percent’ committed to paying Jonathan Kuminga

Joe Lacob: Warriors remain ‘100 percent’ committed to paying Jonathan Kuminga

While he forever changed how we view and play basketball, the clock is ticking on Stephen Curry‘s career. The Warriors needed to get him some self–and that they did, acquiring former Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler ahead of the trade deadline in a five-team trade that led to Golden State shipping off Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and Lindy Waters III.

As part of the deal, Butler signed a two-year, $112 million extension (original terms were $121MM) through the 2026-27 season. Thus, Butler, Curry and Draymond Green would allocate for 90 percent of the salary cap next year and roughly 88 percent in 2026-27.

Yet, there’s still an interesting domino that hasn’t fallen yet: Jonathan Kuminga‘s extension. The former No. 7 overall pick will be entering restricted free agency this offseason and the Warriors–despite Kuminga and Butler’s duplicating skillset–remain fully committed to signing him:

“Absolutely,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob said about wanting to re-sign Kuminga this upcoming offseason, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “One hundred percent. Are you kidding me? I love that guy. We love him.”

Kuminga, 22, hasn’t played since Jan. 4 due to an ankle injury. His first four seasons in the NBA have been a roller coaster. He blossomed in the second half of last, but has been more inconsistent to start the 2024-25 season–despite having the most productive start to his career statistically.

Through 32 games (10 starts), he’s averaging 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 45.9 percent shooting and 34.5 percent from 3-point range. His free-throw shooting has dipped down a career-worst 63.9 percent (5.3 FTA), dropping his true-shooting percentage nearly six percentage points from where it was last year.

Restricted free agency gives the Warriors the right to first refusal, meaning they can match any offer sheet another team gives him. Outside of the Brooklyn Nets, there aren’t very many teams who project to have much cap space heading into next season. But that doesn’t mean a team can’t create said space before the start of free agency.

There’s still untapped potential with 6-foot-8 wing. The flashes are there, the prolonged consistency isn’t. Not all growth is linear. So I wonder what Golden State’s max threshold will be for re-signing him considering he’s not likely to start (barring injury).

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