The Warriors’ tug-of-war leverage battle with restricted free-agent forward Jonathan Kuminga is on. And ESPN’s Tim Legler explained why Golden State needs the 22-year-old swingman more than he needs it on Wednesday’s edition of “NBA Today.”
“I think personally, at this point, the Warriors need Jonathan Kuminga more than he needs them,” Legler said. “Where are the athletes on this team? He does represent an athletic wing. The guy does have something, from a skill standpoint and a physical standpoint, [that] they don’t have on their roster.”
Kuminga is that youthful high-flyer that Golden State doesn’t have, as it sports one of the league’s older rosters centered around 37-year-old Steph Curry, 35-year-old Jimmy Butler and 35-year-old Draymond Green. But at the same time, the shaky Kuminga experiment would be entering a fifth season if the Warriors were to strike a deal with their No. 7 overall selection from the 2021 NBA Draft, and so far, it’s been rough.
At the end of the 2024-25 NBA season, Kuminga’s averages fell to 20.8 minutes, 12.2 points and 3.9 rebounds over the 15 regular-season games he played in coach Steve Kerr’s rotation after Butler’s arrival. The six-time NBA All-Star forward doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, making Kuminga — an inconsistent shooter as of now — an odd fit in the Bay.
“I understand … they wish he was a little bit more locked in defensively with his concentration; they wish he was a little bit more consistent with his rebounding effort. I get all of that,” Legler said. “The guy has played almost 6,000 minutes for the Golden State Warriors, and he’s still auditioning.
“I think, at some point, you need to come to the realization that it’s not going to happen for him in Golden State. And guess what? It might not happen somewhere else, either. But I think, Jonathan Kuminga, to find out, I think he needs to go somewhere where he doesn’t have such cynicism looking at him all the time, waiting for the bad habits … so he can go back to the bench.”
Kuminga definitely has played under heavy pressure from the Warriors organization and Dub Nation. Tensions only are heightened as the clock ticks on the aging franchise’s championship window, especially after Golden State appeared to be a serious contender before Curry’s hamstring injury against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 2025 Western Conference playoffs.
What the Warriors and Kuminga decide to do is unknown. But at the very least, their dynamic is awkward. A change of scenery might be best for Kuminga’s career and Golden State’s future. Or not.
Legler reiterated that the end game between the two parties remains complex.
“They need him. They need the physical specimen that he is,” Legler said. “He needs a fresh start somewhere else to see what this guy could actually become in this league.”
It is no surprise that the Warriors are engaged in sign-and-trade talks over deals involving Kuminga, as reported by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Tristi Rodriguez.
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