Warriors Get Their Man, How Does Signing Affect RFA Standoff?

Of course, instead of Tatum and Jaylen Brown, he’ll now be surrounded by Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. With that being said, after being eliminated in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, it was clear the Warriors needed to address the center position. Horford may not have always been thought to be a realistic addition as he has a lot of love for the Celtics (and they for him). Nevertheless, he becomes the team’s first major signing of the offseason.

How Does This Affect RFA Standoff?

It’s long been reported that the Warriors had reached a verbal agreement with Horford, planning to insert him into the starting lineup. They were just hoping to find a solution to the Jonathan Kuminga situation first as it could impact the amount they were able to offer free agents like Horford.

With that being said, Golden State recently offered Kuminga a three-year $75 million deal with a team option to return to the team. However, the restricted free agent has not taken the deal as he wants the last year to be a player option. The 22-year-old is also considering flying the coop to join a roster where he can take more of a lead. To that point, the Sacramento Kings have expressed interest in a trade for Kuminga and even offered a protected first-round pick. Yet, the Warriors have not shown interest in accepting that deal unless the Kings make the first-rounder unprotected.

For the Horford deal to get confirmed, it’s likely that the Warriors have found a solution to the Kuminga conundrum. Whether it’s them finally giving in to Kuminga’s pressure or the player finally taking the deal, it’ll soon be found out. He has until Oct. 1 to pick up the qualifying offer of $7.9 million.

Warriors Can Still Use Jonathan Kuminga to improve their roster

Kuminga had a solid 2024-25 campaign, averaging 15. 3 points per game on 45.4 % shooting from the field. He even took over the team when Curry was injured in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, putting together some impressive performances. However, he suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of action for a long period of time. More importantly, it was the wrong period of time.

During Kuminga’s absence, the team managed to trade for Butler. The young star’s minutes were reduced as Warriors head coach Steve Kerr questioned his fit alongside another player with an iffy 3-ball. This made sense on paper. Even so, Kuminga put up good numbers when his chance came. In fact, he averaged 14.3 points in 23.4 minutes per contest in his first nine post-injury games. Despite that, he was out of rotation much of Golden State’s first round series against the Houston Rockets.

But in the semifinals series against Minnesota Timberwolves, Kuminga shined. In Game 4, he had his best outing; a 30-point game off the bench. This led to a lot of criticism being directed towards Kerr and his treatment of young players.

The Last Word On Jonathan Kuminga

One of the reasons Kuminga showed a desire to move on from the Warriors was for a better role. Yet, he doesn’t have the skillset to be a franchise star. To be clear, he’s undoubtedly one of the most talented young players in the league. However, it takes more than just talent to win a game in the NBA.  With that being said, Kuminga could learn a lot from Golden State’s veterans. The addition of Horford not only could help him on the court, it gives him another potential mentor.

There aren’t a lot of teams in the league that have a core like the Dubs. Kuminga should make use of it in his formative years instead of finding ways to run away from it.