Warriors holding up Jonathan Kuminga, Suns deal after latest reports

The Warriors don’t want the Suns’ offer for Kuminga.

Jonathan Kuminga wants to leave the Golden State Warriors in restricted free agency. The Warriors don’t have any interest in prioritizing his development, but they also don’t want to lose a talented, young player without a good return. The Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings are offering Kuminga everything he wants, but the Warriors’ insistence on maximizing the young forward’s trade value is holding up the deal.

That’s where Kuminga’s free agency stands right now after a new report from Shams Charania at ESPN.

Charania details the Warriors increasing their offer to Kuminga to two years, $45 million, but it includes a team option on the second year of the deal and a mandate that he would waive an automatic no-trade clause. Kuminga won’t take it. The 22-year-old has been seeking a deal that would pay him $30 million per year while giving him a bigger role with more touches offensively. Unfortunately for Kuminga, the Warriors have the right to match any offer as a restricted free agent, and the lack of available cap space around the league means the only way he can realistically change teams is through a sign-and-trade.

The Suns and Kings are the last suitors left standing for Kuminga, but the Warriors aren’t interested in what they’re offering. Charania reports the Suns are offering Kuminga nearly $70 million more in guaranteed money than the Warriors are, which comes out to a $90 million deal over four years.

Kuminga prefers the longer-term offers presented by the Kings and Suns because he believes they signify a fresh start, a larger guaranteed role, a promised starting position and a greater level of respect and career control, shown in part through the player option, sources said. Phoenix’s proposal is also nearly $70 million more guaranteed than the Warriors’ offer.

The Suns’ trade package to Golden State has not been reported, but the speculation is that it includes Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen. The Warriors likely want Oso Ighodaro or Ryan Dunn in the deal, too. The Kings’ package has been reported to include Devin Carter, Dario Saric, and multiple second-round picks.

The Warriors have every right to use their leverage here. I’m also skeptical they can actually return a better package than O’Neale and Allen, who are players I believe could help them next season. Maybe the Warriors think they have a deal in place with another team on Dec. 15 (when Kuminga’s trade restriction would lift) should he re-sign. If so, it makes sense trying to get Kuminga back before moving him. If not, they should just take the Suns’ offer.

O’Neale’s contract has three years, $33 million remaining, and Allen has three years, $54 million remaining. The Warriors obviously view those are undesirable contracts when they would really just like to maintain flexibility should a star become available. The Warriors have been rumored to be interested in Giannis Antetokounmpo for years, and it’s possible they want to keep their books clean should he ever ask out of Milwaukee, or leave as a free agent after 2027. News flash: every team is going to want Giannis, and the Warriors should really be more concerned about maximizing the end of Stephen Curry’s career than chasing a dream target.

Can the Warriors find a new home for O’Neale and Allen should that be the package? There’s plenty of expiring deals around the league, but the reluctance from teams to give out longer contracts in free agency indicates that there might not be much interest in those players anywhere.

Allen is an elite three-point shooter in his prime who has hit 46.1 percent and 42.3 percent of his threes the last two seasons. O’Neale just turned 32 years old, but he’s been a solid 3-and-D guy for years who hit 40 percent of his threes last season on six attempts per game. The Warriors need more depth, and I like the idea of swapping Kuminga for these two if that offer is indeed on the table.

It would be fun to see Kuminga in more of an up-tempo system that could leverage his size and explosiveness. That’s not going to happen in Steve Kerr’s system. The restricted free agent market has been brutal for players this summer, and Kuminga is feeling the worst of it.