Kumingga s target of 150 million in 5 years! The Warriors have never given this offer and other teams cannot meet it.

Last fall, the Warriors' young forward Jonathan Cumingga failed to reach an agreement on the extension of the rookie contract. This incident has attracted some attention in the basketball world. Anthony Slater, a reporter from the famous sports media The Athletic, reported on this in detail, and mentioned: "Cummingga could have accepted a contract that was lower than the maximum salary, but the Warriors never raised its offer (about $30 million a year) to a sufficiently attractive level." This situation obviously made Cumingga feel unhappy and sparked many speculations about his future.

When discussing Kumingga's maximum salary contract, if he chooses to sign for four years, his annual salary will be about $43 million, while if he chooses five years, his annual salary will be close to $45 million. It is obvious that the Warriors did not show a positive attitude towards the above salary scale. In addition, Kumingga's agent Allen Turner tweeted on social media this week that Kumingga has not even received a specific offer of $30 million annually, let alone rejecting such a proposal. This remark has attracted greater attention and discussion.

Slater currently works for ESPN and naturally does not forget to reiterate this when he was on a podcast program with his new colleague Brian Windhorst on Friday. He revealed that despite the many negotiations between the Warriors and Kumingga on the new contract, the team has always remained silent on specific offers, especially as the "poison clause" is about to be implemented in the 2024-25 season, the Warriors would rather maintain flexible trading space to leave room for future personnel adjustments.

"I think the five-year contract signed by Jaylen Johnson, with a total value of $150 million, gave the Cumingga team a good goal." Slater mentioned, "As far as I know, if the Warriors are willing to provide such a five-year contract worth $150 million, Cumingga team is completely willing to accept it. Unfortunately, the Warriors have never made such a offer." Nine months have passed, Cumingga has experienced a ups and downs season. He has only participated in 47 games, and his personal data has also declined. This makes him, as a restricted free agent at this stage, the market's assessment of him is far below the annual salary of $30 million.

To confirm this, The Athletic reporter Fred Katz conducted a survey of 16 other teams in the league and asked them about their views on Kumingga's reasonable contract. According to Katz, respondents believe that Kumingga's annual salary should be between $17 million and $25 million, and those who are optimistic about Kuming's blessing even suggest that he should be provided with a five-year, $125 million contract. However, most respondents prefer a three-year contract, and many also recommend adding player options in the third year. Some compared Cuminga's situation with Jaylen Green of the Houston Rockets. The former Rockets star defender signed a three-year $105 million rookie contract last fall that included a third-year team option, and was traded to the Phoenix Suns earlier this month.

"It feels like a Jaylen Green-style contract that keeps him tradable in the trading market." A team official who suggested giving a three-year, $70 million contract told Katz, "While this is obviously lower than what he might expect, the player options can give him some choice." Another interviewee commented: "If I were his agent, I would definitely fight for a short-term contract so that he could seize the opportunity to seek the possibility of transferring to other teams while making money." As Katz said, Kumingga is not without the opportunity to accept the qualification offer with an annual salary of $8 million, thus achieving complete freedom in 2026. But for the young player, who is only 22 years old and the Warriors, it will be a risky road - the Warriors need a player with an annual salary of between $15 million and $25 million to meet the trading needs. Currently, in the 2025-26 season, the Warriors have earned more than $11.6 million, only three, namely Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, and none of these three are on the list of possible trades.

"If he finally chooses to accept the qualification offer, the Warriors will face huge difficulties in building the team because they need to make sure he signs a contract that can be used for the transaction." One executive said bluntly, "This is a key factor for them."