Warriors GM admitted that they might keep Kumingga Cole: He will definitely be used next season!

With the Golden State Warriors being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, the topic of their offseason operation has begun. At the season summary press conference, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said he hopes to keep Kumingga on the team, and his stay is "very reasonable and operational."

22-year-old Kumingga had a roller coaster season with the Warriors. He once played his best performance in the regular season, scoring 34 points twice. But as the Warriors exchanged Butler in the middle of the season, Cuminga's rotation position was hit and was eventually abandoned by Warriors coach Cole when entering the playoffs. However, when Curry retreated in the first game of the second round, Kumingga became the Warriors' offensive reliance again. He averaged 24.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in the four games after the series, making him the team's scoring leader.

This summer, Kumingga will become a restricted free agent, and he is undecided in the Warriors' future.

"We value Kumingga very much. I think he has played a very resilient season. ... As for whether to keep him in the team next season, I think this is something we are interested in operating, because when I see Kumingga's advantages, his attack, end, and killing ability are all what we need. We know that both sides can sit down and have a good chat, which is not an assumption." Dunleavy said, "For these reasons, we will try to keep him, but you still have to have some conversation first. You have to figure out what to do, this is a two-way choice, and we will see how the final result is."

Kumingga can sign directly with the Warriors, or accept quotes from other teams, and then wait for the Warriors to match.

"I know what I think of him, and I know how to work with him better. But if I were asked to guess how everything would develop, guess what the contract might be, whether to sign and then exchange, to be honest, I can only guess now." Dunleavy continued, "Kuminga has been here for four years, and we have been working with him. He has invested a lot of time to polish himself. Although he has not been able to play in some playoffs, I think it is reasonable and feasible to keep him on the team."

Cole also said that if Kuuminga stays on the team, he will try to make everything better and find a more suitable role for Kuuminga.

"If Kumingga stayed, we would undoubtedly let him play with Curry, Dream Chasing, Butler at the beginning of the season. In my opinion, it doesn't even have to think about it. This year we don't have this luxury. From the moment we exchanged Butler, we would start the playoffs early, and that happened to be the stage when Kumingga was injured. We played some games without him and then found a viable rotation method." Cole said.

"When he returns, it will be difficult for us to find a way to integrate, and the team will not have the opportunity to try more. If Kumingga stays in the team, we can definitely readjust."

Kumingga makes 47 appearances in the regular season this season, averaging 15.3 points per game. "I think he played a pretty good year. Before he got injured, he really found his form. The injury brought him a blow, and by the time he came back, he had lost the rhythm, which also brought us a challenge because we were busy sprinting to the playoffs at that time."

In addition to the future of Kumingga, the Warriors' roster still needs to be upgraded. But whether Dunleavy or Cole, they all believe that the Warriors will continue to build a team around Curry, Green and Butler as the core, and they are not far from the championship.

"We led 1-0 in the semi-finals, and we felt that we really had a chance to win the championship, and I still feel that way now," Cole said. "So simply, I think we are not far from the championship."

Speaking of whether we are willing to bet on future draft picks and other chips to upgrade the lineup, Dunleavy said: "We are willing to give some draft picks, it depends on how good we can make the team. Regarding sacrificing the future, I think the last thing you want to fall into is to bet on everything, and then after playing 10 games in the season, you find yourself at a dead end, and there is no hope for the next 4 or 5 years."

(text/Thai Fu)