Ex-Warriors Star Thrash Jonathan Kuminga’s Trusted Ally Over $48.5M Deal

Only a day before the deal, Kuminga’s agent Aaron Turner spoke at length on The Hoops Collective podcast. He claimed that JK would accept the $8 million qualifying offer from much earlier in this season if the terms were better and deemed the team ‘unfair’ for their terms. Arenas didn’t directly react to that yet but he’s recommending that Kuminga pull a Jaylen Brown and take his agent out of the equation.

Like, he did a whole skit. “Brother, you could’ve walked over to Joseph’s [Joe Lacob] house, kicked Joseph’s door in Boom! Took the wallet, and then signed on that checkbook, two year, $48.5, and walked out. He would’ve looked at that number and said, ‘Hey, Kuminga, hey you have a nice day. Don’t worry about it, we got that. Hey, tell guards stand down, we good, we robbed him.'”

Maybe it’s not farfetched considering the biggest reason the front office wouldn’t trade Kuminga away is because Joe Lacob is a fan of him. If that would’ve translated to a bigger contract after his second season with the team in 2023, that seems unlikely. The point by Arenas remains though that Kuminga got robbed.

NBA insiders side-eye Jonathan Kuminga’s agent

Right before the Warriors were going to talk to the press, it appeared that Jonathan Kuminga and his agent were going scorched earth. The player deleted his social media in the most cryptic fashion and Aaron Turner was on a press tour claiming he was going to fight.

By then, the Warriors had ended all sign and trade options and upped their offer to $75 million with a team option. Turner was adamant on getting his client a player option. There was a veiled threat in his comments too. “If JK came back on the QO, would he be excited to play? Yeah, he’s itching to play right now,” Turner said. “But the reality is, the number one thing for JK and his family, and if I’m watching, you know, advising, is he’s got to get to the summer of ’26, ’27 healthy.”

Translation: he claimed that Kuminga would take the offer with a no trade clause and get in shape for unrestricted free agency then comply with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler’s ‘win now’ window.

NBC Sports’ analyst Dalton Johnson pointed out “Through four years, Kuminga and the Warriors have yet to find common ground on who he presently is as a player, who he can be with more opportunities and who he will be in the future.” The resolution frees Golden State to sign free agents like Al Horford, but insiders like Johnson warn it doesn’t resolve underlying trust issues with coach Steve Kerr.

While, Kevin O’Connor also made a strong remark, “Now, he must wait a while longer to see where his next stop might be, albeit while enjoying a much bigger payday.”

After all that bravado, most analysts have the same opinion as Gilbert Arenas – that Turner overplayed Kuminga’s hand. He not only gave a talented player to the Dubs on a discount, he’s ruined JK’s reputation in the process.

Jeff Teague previously wondered aloud if any team would want Kuminga anymore after this. Not to mention how Turner made Steph Curry mad enough to comment at him – “I only listen to my teammate. I don’t listen to agents or anybody who are speaking on behalf.” 

Curry took a somewhat protective stance towards Kuminga and almost all the vets are positive about his return. His agent though is persona non grata to this team going forward.