Jonathan Kuminga is a man who wants to be paid this summer, but with few outside the Brooklyn Nets actually holding cap space, the young forward will likely still need help from the Golden State Warriors to make it happen.
Following the Warriors' elimination at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second-round, reports immediately surfaced from The Athletic and ESPN that the franchise and Kuminga's camp would explore sign-and-trade scenarios this offseason.
Jonathan Kuminga could still get a big new contract
Golden State clearly value Kuminga enough that they won't let him walk for nothing, and rightly so after he finished the playoffs averaging 24.3 points on over 55% shooting following Stephen Curry's hamstring injury.
However, reports and even Steve Kerr's own comments would suggest that the Warriors are willing to part ways if they get something of real value in return. It's this situation that may help Kuminga get the big new contract he wishes, having reportedly turned down a five-year, $150 million extension prior to the season.
As Forbes' Bryan Toporek smartly outlined recently, the CBA makes things complicated for Golden State in terms of a Kuminga sign-and-trade. Perhaps most important is the fact that only 50% of the 22-year-old's actual salary will count as outgoing salary in the trade.
"If Kuminga signed a new contract starting at $25 million as part of a sign-and-trade, he'd count as $12.5 million in outgoing salary for the Warriors and $25 million for his new team," Toporek wrote.
Now, the Warriors can take back more salary in a trade if they stay under the NBA's first tax apron (approx $195 million), with Toporek stating they could take on approximately $8.5 million more which means a player making around $20 million or less.
So in other words, it may actually be helpful for Golden State to grant Kuminga the big contract wish he desires. The more the former seventh overall pick gets on his new deal, the more the Warriors can bring back in a trade and theoretically target a better player.
Of course, this is all predicated on who may actually have interest in Kuminga, with a number of teams already above the first tax apron and therefore unlikely to be trade partners. Kuminga and his camp will obviously have a say on where he ends up if he does depart, but that may matter less than simply getting the big new contract he's after.
