Jonathan Kuminga will not be present at the Golden State Warriors media day on Monday, September 29, as reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater. Kuminga has been locked in contract negotiations with the franchise all summer; however, neither side has been willing to budge in order to accommodate the other, leading to a highly-charged standoff that continues to drag on.
Kuminga is reportedly seeking a deal that has a player option on the final year. The Warriors, on the other hand, would prefer a team option, and that appears to be the sticking point with both sides. Kuminga has until October 1 to either sign one of the contracts Golden State has offered or to sign his qualifying offer.
“Kuminga did not travel to San Francisco this weekend and won’t be in attendance for Monday’s media day, league sources told ESPN,” Slater and Charania reported. “Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. made contact with Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, on Sunday, but there’s no momentum toward a Kuminga contract or return prior to the team’s first practice on Tuesday. The Warriors have kept their three outstanding offers on the table, sources said. The two most lucrative — two years, $45 million and three years, $75.2 million — include team options on the final season, and the only offer without a team option is for three years and $54 million.”
With just two days until Kuminga’s decision is due, the Warriors are unlikely to sanction a sign-and-trade, especially due to their reported reluctance to add Malik Monk to the roster due to his player option ahead of the 2027-28 season. Therefore, Kuminga has a choice to make. He will either position himself for unrestricted free agency next summer or re-sign on improved terms without a player option.
Either way, Kuminga’s future with the Warriors projects to be short-lived. His absence from media day is just another example of why it’s unlikely he will be with the franchise much longer.
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This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Jonathan Kuminga to miss the Warriors’ media day
