Kuminga's Timberwolves Contract Exposes Warriors' Reckless Move

Jonathan Kuminga agreed to a two-year, $12.4 million contract with the Timberwolves on Wednesday, and of course Warriors fans had a wide range of opinions about it.

One was that Kuminga's agent did a terrible job reading the market. Having to settle for the taxpayer mid-level exception ($6.1 million in the first season) is disappointing for a player who turned down a three-year, $75.2 million contract from the Warriors a year ago.

Speaking of which, that offer is the impetus for my biggest takeaway from this new contract.

The Warriors had no business giving him that $75.2 million offer, and had he accepted it, the Dubs would be much worse off.

Last Year's Kuminga Negotiations Had Reckless Offer

ESPN's Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported on the drawn-out negotiations between Kuminga and the Warriors last offseason.

Here's how things reportedly went down.

- Mike Dunleavy Jr. offered Kuminga a two-year deal worth $45 million with a team option in the second season
- Kuminga turned it down, in part because of the team option. He either wanted a higher AAV or a player option
- Dunleavy upped the offer to three years and $75.2 million with a team option in the third season
- Kuminga turned that down as well due to the presence of the team option
- Joe Lacob was against a "balloon" one-year deal because he didn't want to lose Kuminga for nothing next free agency
- Finally, the Warriors and Kuminga agreed to a two-year deal worth up $48.5 million with a team option in the second season

In hindsight, it's easy to see that Kuminga should have taken the $75.2 million offer. He ended up taking an offer with a team option in it anyway at a similar AAV, but he got over $20 million less guaranteed.

This offseason has proved that the league doesn't think Kuminga is worth anything close to $75.2 million. It was a reckless offer then, and it looks even more reckless now.

Guessing What Would Have Happened If He Accepted the $75.2M Offer

It's impossible to know what would have happened had he accepted it, but it's likely that Kuminga and Steve Kerr would have butted heads anyway, except this time trading him would have been much more difficult.

Part of the reason the Hawks traded for Kuminga was that he was essentially on an expiring contract. And that's exactly how they treated it, declining the team option and letting him test free agency.

It's hard to imagine that the Hawks would have made the same trade—giving up Kristaps Porzingis—had Kuminga's 2026-27 salary been guaranteed.

Kuminga might be still be a Warrior, demanding to be traded while the Dubs struggle to find a trade they like.

Final Thoughts on the Warriors Front Office

So the Dubs caught a break by Kuminga turning down the bigger offer. But the whole Kuminga saga doesn't inspire much confidence in the Golden State front office.

It's not just about how Dunleavy and Lacob handled the Kuminga negotiations in 2025. It's also about how much the Warriors invested in Kuminga to be their next star—and how many trades they reportedly turned down—only for him to be so far away from stardom that he's taking a two-year, $12.4 million deal entering his sixth season.

In fairness to Dunleavy, Bob Myers was the GM when Kuminga was drafted, and since Dunleavy has taken over, he's had a good draft track record. He's hit on Brandin Podziemski, Quinten Post and Will Richard, and Yaxel Lendeborg's summer league performance is a good early sign.

Regardless of who's to blame, the Kuminga era was a mess, with the $75.2 offer being a stark reminder of it.

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