Jonathan Kuminga
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Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball during the first quarter of Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jonathan Kuminga’s off-season decision is going to have a huge impact on the Golden State Warriors.
But even though the noise around the Warriors guard is deafening, it doesn’t seem to be getting through to him, since the restricted free agent guard has disabled comments on his social-media posts.
Kuminga has been at the forefront of both trade and offer-sheet rumors, since the seventh pick of the 2022 NBA Draft is Golden State’s most important player without a contract for 2025-26. Unsurprisingly, Golden State reportedly offered him a $7.9 million tender, which means he is likely headed to restricted free agency — where the Warriors can match any offer sheet he signs.
Still, the Warriors, who have 10 contracts for 2025-26 and $35 million in space to stay below the NBA’s dreaded second apron, may end up losing Kuminga if they choose not match an offer sheet from an opposing team like the Brooklyn Nets.
Why Did Jonathan Kuminga Disable Comments?
Kuminga went on an Instagram-posting spree Sunday by sharing two different photo montages of his recent workouts both in the gym and on the court.
Yet, when Warriors and NBA fans alike, or anonymous online trolls, tried to comment on those pictures, they were brutally rebuffed by Instagram’s privacy policy that allows users to limit or disable comments entirely.
Fans who may want to go back in the archive and comment on Kuminga’s old posts saw the same message. Even though he is a public figure with a public account — and therefore does not keep users from seeing his pictures unless they follow him — Kuminga also disabled messaging on his Instagram stories too.
Maybe Kuminga was getting aggressive messages from fans of rival clubs, or simply wanted to keep the trolls at bay. But if you’re trying to reach him, it might be tricky.
Why Is Jonathan Kuminga So Important For The Warriors?
Kuminga has had consecutive double-digit-point seasons, so his potential free agency is coming at a key time for him.
But the Warriors’ decision to wait for rival clubs to make their offers then determine if they can match is “controlling their off-season” according to former NBA exec turned ESPN analyst Bobby Marks.
If the Warriors pull off a sign and trade, they will end up with cap space — or potentially an impact player — that can positively affect their roster. But the sign and trade could also keep the Warriors from acquiring full value, based on some salary-cap-related bureaucracy.
“Only 50 percent of Kuminga’s outgoing salary is used in a trade, not the full amount. (For example, if the salary in the first year is $30 million, $15 million counts as outgoing salary and $30 million is incoming for the acquiring team.),” Marks wrote on ESPN.com on Monday. “Golden State is also $25 million below the first apron. It would not be allowed to trade for a player earning more than that amount unless additional salary is included.”
With the Warriors controlling picks, and with their window to win extended thanks to the Jimmy Butler acquisition mid-season, it could make more sense for the Warriors to let Kuminga walk while targeting a bigger fish — if they can land one.