Why Jonathan Kuminga’s Warriors contract situation interests Charles Barkley originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors have a lot of roster work to do this summer, but their biggest to-do item is figuring out if Jonathan Kuminga still fits or if it’s time to move on from the 22-year-old forward.
Kuminga was out of Steve Kerr’s rotation at the end of the regular season and into the NBA playoffs, but burst back onto the scene after Steph Curry sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Following the Warriors’ season-ending Game 5 loss to the Timberwolves on Wednesday night, TNT’s Charles Barkley addressed Kuminga’s situation.
“Man, the Kuminga thing is interesting, because the three old guys are making a lot of money, so you’re pretty much stuck with them for the next two years,” Barkley said on “Inside the NBA.” “The Kuminga thing, we’re in the back and we’re like ‘Damn. He either plays or he doesn’t play.’ But now you’ve got to make a decision. You’ve got to make a decision whether to pay him or not.”
Co-host Kenny Smith interjected, referencing the Warriors and Kuminga failing to agree to a contract extension before the 2024-25 season began.
“Well, they made their decision,” Smith said. “They didn’t extend him and they don’t play him when Steph is there. Meaning, his contribution, they don’t feel helps when Steph is there. They’ve said it.”
Barkley, a long-time Warriors detractor, made the case that Kuminga helped balance the roster that features a 37-year-old Curry, and Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, both 35 years old.
“And I’m going to disagree with you,” Barkley said to Smith. “He’s the only one on that bench that’s explosive and you can’t go to war with three old guys against the West. Like, he was the only guy out there, when you said, he can play with these Minnesota Timberwolves guys. But he’s a restricted free agent … I don’t want to make a comment because they know him better than we do. They didn’t extend him when all the other rookies got extended. So it tells me they don’t believe in him.”
Kuminga is a restricted free agent, so he can sign an offer sheet from another team and the Warriors have the right to match. Or they can work out a sign-and-trade with another team, giving the 2021 No. 7 overall draft pick a fresh start elsewhere.
But Kuminga showed his immense talent during several stretches this season. In 15 games from Dec. 3 to Jan. 4, he averaged 20.4 points on 48.2 percent shooting from the field. In back-to-back games on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, he scored 34 points off the bench.
Then a severe ankle injury sidelined him for two months, and when Kuminga returned, Jimmy Butler was in the fold and took most of the minutes at power forward.
In his final 15 regular-season games, Kuminga averaged just 12.2 points and fell out of favor with Kerr, to the point that he wasn’t in the first-round rotation against the Houston Rockets.
Kerr had no choice but to turn to Kuminga when Curry went down with the hamstring strain, and the young forward stepped up, averaging 24.3 points in the final four games against the Timberwolves.
Kuminga’s performance in the Western Conference semifinals likely served as an audition for prospective teams, and if the Warriors decide a sign-and-trade is the best route, his potential could be tantalizing to rival general managers.
“I don’t know how those things go,” Kuminga told reporters during his end-of-season availability on Thursday at Chase Center. “I’ll learn more going through the summer. It don’t really matter. I’m going to let my agent handle things like that. I’ll just listen to what he’ll tell me.
“I just tell him to take his time. I’m going to take my time too, figure out what I’m going to do with my day because I’m bored.”
Barkley often isn’t spot-on regarding the Warriors, but concerning the Kuminga situation, he hit the nail on the head.
