New Report on Kings' Pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga

As Slater mentions, restricted free agency has not been nearly as active as it had been in past years, and this has directly impacted Jonathan Kuminga. With only the Brooklyn Nets projected to be able to create enough cap space to give an offer sheet to Kuminga, it was always more likely that we would see a sign-and-trade, which is where Sacramento comes in.

The Kings reportedly were willing to send Devin Carter, Dario Saric (pending trade), and multiple second-round picks for Kuminga in a sign-and-trade. While this may not seem like much for Kuminga, Golden State is up against a few challenges when it comes to moving their former lottery pick. 

Because Kuminga has his bird rights, is in line for a raise worth more than 20% of his current salary, and the Warriors are over the cap, something called base year compensation comes into play. BYC stipulates that Kuminga’s outgoing salary will be 50% of its actual value for matching purposes, restricting the amount of salary the Warriors can take back.

This really narrows the pool of players and assets the Warriors can reasonably take back, which is why the Kings offered a package that would equate to Kumigna making around $21 million per year. 

The other issue that comes up is the salary number itself. While the Warriors would want to pay Kuminga well so they can take back more salary in a sign-and-trade, teams interested in him may balk at the price the Warriors are hoping for. Golden State does have the option to sign Kuminga and look to trade him at the deadline when base year compensation no longer applies; that would mean taking a big chance that his market heats up significantly by February.

The other option Golden State, or Kuminga, rather, has is taking the qualifying offer. Golden State tendered a $7.9 million qualifying offer to Kuminga to make him a restricted free agent, and he is able to take that offer and become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. While Golden State could still trade him if he does take his offer, Kuminga would be the one with the final say.

There are some significant hurdles for Sacramento to jump through before they’re able to acquire Kuminga, one of which is that he plays for their in-state rival. Golden State won’t want to just give Kuminga away and will try to hold out for the best offer they can or even just a similar offer from a team outside the Pacific Division.

The Kings, Warriors, and Kumigna would also all need to agree on the sign and trade, which adds another layer of complexity to negotiations. The Warriors have final say over what happens with Kuminga as of now, but if they don’t get an offer better than what the Kings have sent in, they may have to consider the negatives to holding on to a player that doesn’t seem to fit into their long-term plans. Sacramento will likely be patient and wait out any other interest in Kuminga before overpaying, but it’s clear they are seriously interested.