NBA Rumors: Warriors reportedly have strong reason not to offer Jonathan Kuminga a big deal

As July nears its end, the Golden State Warriors remain the only NBA team that hasn’t made any roster moves. Jonathan Kuminga’s situation remains unsettled, and according to reports, the San Francisco franchise may have strategic reasons for holding off.

Kuminga has spent weeks in a state of uncertainty, surrounded by rumors of interest from other teams but without any concrete developments. At the same time, the Warriors continue to weigh the possibility of signing the young forward to a new deal.

While Jonathan now appears open to continuing his career elsewhere, that wasn’t necessarily the case a few months ago. “Obviously Kuminga and his representation, they had ambitious thoughts about what it could be. I’ve been told that they would have taken five years for $150 million if it was ever on the table,” NBA insider Anthony Slater recently revealed on ESPN. “It wasn’t on the table.”

Slater then explained why Golden State never moved forward with such an offer. “Part of the reason the Warriors didn’t necessarily want to put an offer on the table and never actually did put a firm sign on the dotted line type offer on the table is because it would have poison-pilled his contract,” the reporter said.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr did not prioritize Kuminga during the past season.

It’s clear Kuminga doesn’t hold significant on-court value for the Warriors. Head coach Steve Kerr has not assigned him a major role, as the forward started just 10 of the 47 games he played last season. In the playoffs, he started only once in eight games.

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However, as a potential trade chip, the 22-year-old player could be a valuable asset. “They were very much in flexibility mode because they wanted to be able to trade him,” Slater added. “If you sign him to that deal, he’s nearly impossible to trade.”

In line with that thinking, the ESPN reporter revealed that Golden State nearly pulled the trigger last season: “They almost traded him for Kevin Durant.” That move was reportedly considered ahead of the trade deadline, but ultimately it was Jimmy Butler who landed in San Francisco and became a key addition to the squad.

Still, the possibility of adding Durant in exchange for Kuminga was appealing not only to the Warriors, but to Jonathan himself. “You could argue whether it’s better that they got Butler or Durant, but I’ll tell you, Jonathan Kuminga wouldn’t mind being right now an extended member of the Phoenix Suns,” Slater said.

Although that opportunity has passed — with Jimmy Butler now in Golden State and Kevin Durant in Houston — Phoenix remains a potential destination for the 2021 seventh overall Draft pick. In fact, the Suns and the Sacramento Kings are still considered the two teams most interested in Kuminga.