The Golden State Warriors could have gotten rid of Jonathan Kuminga and landed a much better player, but missed their chance.
The Golden State Warriors have completely made a mess of their offseason. With no signings or trades so far, things are looking quite bleak for them.
The Warriors have put their offseason on hold for Jonathan Kuminga. The young forward’s restricted free agency has been one of the messiest sagas in recent memory.
Earlier this week, the Warriors offered Kuminga a two-year, $45 million contract. But the forward turned the deal down.
Kuminga has made it clear he wants to earn $30 million per season in salary. So far, no other NBA team has been willing to offer him that wage.
Kuminga and his agent sent a message to the Warriors – Pay me what I want. But the Warriors aren’t willing to do that. And in all honesty, they could have addressed this problem years ago.
In 2023, the Golden State Warriors, who were defending NBA champions, were looking to tinker with their roster. And according to Zach Lowe, they had a deal on the table that fell apart.
Ahead of the 2023 NBA trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors tried trading for OG Anunoby. However, they refused to send Jonathan Kuminga to the Toronto Raptors, thus collapsing the deal.
“They engaged with the Raptors on Anunoby, too, sources said. The two sides do not appear to have gotten all that close, and talks petered out before the deadline.
“The Warriors likely would have had to include Jonathan Kuminga as the centerpiece of any Anunoby deal, sources said.”
While the Golden State Warriors failed to pull the trigger on a deal, the New York Knicks wouldn’t make the same mistake.
In December of 2023, the Knicks traded for OG Anunoby. This deal proved to be massive, as it added yet another strong two-way wing player to their roster.
Anunoby made the Knicks genuine contenders, helping them reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.
One can imagine just how good the Warriors would have been had they landed Anunoby instead. Especially since it would have solved their Kuminga problem.
But the Warriors didn’t do that. Now, they’re forced to play out this tired saga with Kuminga before they make any signings and try to extend Stephen Curry’s championship window.
