king herald logo

Independent Sacramento Kings Coverage. By Fans, For Fans. | Support Us On Patreon

Jonathan Kuminga to Kings dream officially dead… for now

The Warriors and Kuminga were able to come to terms just before the October 1st deadline.
By | 23 Comments | Oct 1, 2025

Oct 18, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) drives past Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The Jonathan Kuminga saga has come to an end for now, as Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors have come to terms after a months long standoff.  Kuminga and the Warriors agreed to a two-year, $48.5 million deal with a team option for the second year.  Kuminga also waived his no-trade clause and will be eligible to be traded in mid-January.  This deal came to fruition just before October 1st when Kuminga would have been forced to either take the Qualifying Offer or accept Golden State’s terms.

The Kings had reportedly offered Malik Monk and a protected first round pick for Kuminga, but the Warriors didn’t seem to care for Sacramento’s offer.  The Kings did end up holding firm and not unprotecting their pick, as multiple reports indicated that an unprotected pick from the Kings probably would have changed their mind.  It’s possible both of these teams will come back to the negotiating table this year once Kuminga is eligible to be traded, but the Warriors have far more control over who they can trade him to and for what now.  Should Kuminga become available by the deadline, it’s unlikely that Sacramento would be the only suitor.

Kuminga’s deal structure allows for either the Warriors or whatever team trades for him to decline the team option and renegotiate a deal with Bird Rights (aka the ability to go over the cap to retain him).  It’s probably as good of a deal as Kuminga could have hoped for now, although he retains a bit less control now over any future destination by waiving his no-trade clause.  It still seems unlikely that Kuminga will be a Warrior long-term, but for now Golden State is able to retain him as both a player and potential trade asset.

With no Kuminga addition on the table for Sacramento, the roster is seemingly set headed into training camp.  A much rumored Russell Westbrook addition doesn’t seem to be on the table for now either as the Kings still have far too many guards on the roster as is.  Fans will get their first look at the new look Kings next Wednesday as they take on the Toronto Raptors at home for the first preseason game.

Patreon Membership
* indicates required


To prevent spam, our system flags comments that include too many hyperlinks. If you would like to share a comment with multiple links, make sure you email editorial@kingsherald.com for it to be approved.

Subscribe
Notify of
23 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
RikSmits
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
October 1, 2025 9:51 am

Some peace and quiet until December.

comment image

krswin
Comments
Comments
October 1, 2025 10:14 am

Kudos to the Kings for not caving in.

Adamsite
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
October 1, 2025 10:15 am

Now we can look forward to an exciting season with this exciting roster and an exciting push for the playoffs, amirite?

Kfan
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
October 1, 2025 10:36 am
Reply to  Adamsite

Now we can look forward to an exciting season with this exciting roster and an exciting push for the playoffs, amirite?

As soon as we trade for Kelly Oubre and Kyle Kuzma. amirite?

October 1, 2025 1:31 pm
Reply to  Kfan

It’s almost a certainty now that they struck out on Kuminga.

RPO
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
RPO
October 1, 2025 10:47 am

It’s crazy that we need other teams to save the Kings from themselves from disaster. In this case, the Duds did the Kings a solid by keeping Kuminga. In the past, the Bulls did the Kings a solid by matching the offer for Lavine, and the Knicks did the Kings a solid by taking Perry away and putting him in their own front office. So I guess Kuminga to the Kings is inevitable at some point.

Adamsite
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
October 1, 2025 10:58 am
Reply to  RPO

Well, he needs to get in line behind Kuzma and Westbrook. Dude needs to wait his turn!

SactownLegendz
Comments
Comments
October 1, 2025 3:40 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

Lol

alec26
Comments
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Patreon Supporter
October 1, 2025 11:12 am
Reply to  RPO

Good reason to be a Lakers fan (trust me, I’m not). No matter how much they screw up, good things always eventually come their way.

Hippity_Hop_Barbershop
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
October 1, 2025 11:33 am
Reply to  alec26

Being a Lakers fan and not thinking you get special treatment from the league is like being Anjali Ranadive and thinking you got the GM job on your own merit.

KingBob
Comments
Comments
October 1, 2025 12:06 pm

Maybe she did. If it weren’t for her, some of these players may not have taken a Chance playing for us.

Kfan
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
October 1, 2025 12:08 pm
Reply to  KingBob

Some might Lambaste you for that one.

ArcoThunder
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
October 2, 2025 7:09 am
Reply to  Kfan

Off topic… kfan, would you be interested in buying my old CD collection off of me?

Kfan
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
October 2, 2025 8:06 am
Reply to  ArcoThunder

No thanks.

UpgradedToQuestionable
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
October 1, 2025 2:22 pm

It’s difficult to know what Jonathan Kuminga will be, could be, might be, should be.

The Warriors are a system team. If you fit their system, you can shine. Trayce Jackson-Davis two seasons ago, to be replaced with Quentin Post last season both seemed like up and coming players, with vastly different skill sets at the same position (Center). I don’t think their gleam would help the beam very much in Sacramento, either of them. I remember Jordan Bell in the past and how good he looked on Golden State. Steve Kerr and his coaching corps seem to be able to find the facets of a player and polish that to fit their system. It’s called superior coaching. And just as their system boosts certain players that falter on other teams (Jordan Poole is another example) some players just don’t mold into their scheme. How long did King Dennis Schröder last on the Dubs? Does that mean he is a faulty player (if you can’t shine there, you can’t shine, anywhere) or a system misfit? D’Angelo Russell. Also not a Warrior for very long (and he brought back Andrew Wiggins and a protected FRP IIRC). Also not a particularly good fit anywhere and is on his 7th team (he was traded back to LAL and Brooklyn twice, twice). That just makes me worry more about Dennis The Menace.

So – Jonathan Kuminga; Lacob/Dunleavy/Kerr are willing to trade him, and he doesn’t want to be there (hadn’t been punched by Draymond to my knowledge) and he remains an unknown, a gamble and essentially, a trade piece. They only played him sparingly before, I don’t think that changes, but enough not to tank his trade value.

Is he MBIII v. 2.0? That seems more likely (not the injuries, of course), especially on the Kings. That is, a non outside shooting, but scoring, athletic frontcourt player, not much of a defender or rebounder. The Warriors, for the record, have 7 SGs already and no way they are taking Malik Monk or Devin Carter.

SactownLegendz
Comments
Comments
October 1, 2025 3:52 pm

That’s a good comparison but think Bagley is solid on the boards. Kuminga is definitely better but probably not too much of a difference in terms of the intangibles. I’m kinda happy it’s not in play now, and hope it continues to stay that way. To me, he seems to be a score first guy who doesn’t offer much rebounding, defense, passing or 3 pt shooting. It’s weird that the new regime wants such a player. Kuminga is a great athlete and has the size/length to be really good on defense but things haven’t played out that way yet. He’s a good one on one defender but people say the help & team D is bad. Doesn’t rack up many stocks either considering his size & athletic ability. A guy I’d rather have is Jonathan Isaac, and seems like the type of dude Doug & Scott would love too, considering the type of style they want to play. Demar + ’30 UFRP could get that done?

Adamsite
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Nostradumbass 14
October 1, 2025 6:50 pm
Reply to  SactownLegendz

So he is basically Jabari Parker 2.0.

NorCalKingsFan
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
October 1, 2025 9:12 pm

I liked the idea of acquiring Kuminga when he was a distressed asset and no position to really negotiate a new deal, but GSW has unreasonable expectations for a return package.

I don’t understand why GSW believes that suddenly a bunch of great offers are going to come in. If GSW calls back in Jan to see if there is still interest, the Kings FO should tell them Monk and the 1st Rd pick are now off the table. Saric & Carter, don’t offer anything else.

At this point, I don’t think Kuminga should be the target of any team…the deal he signed is stupid in so many ways. He is now on a 2yr deal with a TO for it to expire after one year I know it says differently in the article, but he loses his Full Bird rights if traded, he’ll be on Non-Bird rights if the TO isn’t taken and they negotiate a new deal, and he’d be on Eatrly Bird rights if he plays out the 2yr contract on a new team (has to be traded this year), but if somehow he is traded and plays well enough to be resigned by an acquiring team, Kuminga would have all the leverage in any new contract negotiations.

Previously, he was a player who desperately wanted out…he was willing to accept less money for the promise of more playing time. If he gets traded and plays well, his new contract will be a difficult negotiation and he won’t be willing to take less money especially if he had season where he put up good tape. If he plays poorly, the acquiring team has to decide whether to keep for another year a $24M player who didn’t play well or to cut a player who you just gave up real assets for.

An acquiring team isn’t going to make great offers for a one and a half year trial run when they were previously looking at 3-4 years of Kuminga locked into a slightly-higher-than-it-should-be contract. In those talks, he was attainable at 4/$90M (Suns) or 3/$66M (Kings) or roughly $22M annually. He is now $24M at year for the next two years and that is only going to go up if he negotiates a new deal 2 years down the road. His total price at that point over 4yrs will be 24+24+30?+30?=108, or $28M more than the Suns were offering over the same 4yr period. My point is, GSW just turned Kuminga into an overpriced, overvalued asset.

It feels like the GSW are Giannis or bust, but if Giannis actually becomes available, there are so many teams with way more and way better assets than GSW. Kuminga will most likely be a Warrior for the next two years.

SavageBeast
Original Member
Comments
Original Member
Comments
October 1, 2025 3:04 pm

I first I read it as, the roster is alarmingly set instead of seemingly set, and that seems more appropriate.

Last edited 5 months ago by SavageBeast
Sacto_J
Comments
Original Member
Vote Up
Comments
Original Member
Vote Up
October 1, 2025 9:02 pm

comment image

andy_sims
Vote Up
Comments
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Vote Up
Comments
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
October 2, 2025 10:09 am

Perhaps we’ll have a Kuminga in the spring. A.

ArcoThunder
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
October 2, 2025 1:48 pm

this guy must hold the record for the most articles ever written about a non king player in the history of TKH. what is it, 64 now over the last two months?

AmateurNerd
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
October 3, 2025 7:20 pm

It’s so very Kangz to be utterly fixated on the idea of trading for a third-tier wing as if acquiring said player will significantly change the team’s prospects. I’m glad I canceled League Pass before it auto-renewed, and look forward to not spending a dime on this team I’ve followed my entire life until it finally ends the delusional thinking it has practiced for 12+ years now.
(For the record, first tier = All-NBA; second tier = All-Star caliber; third tier = above average but not too much)

Badge Legend

Patreon Supporter Patreon Supporter   Registered On Day 1 Registered On Day 1   Published Post Published Post  Published Post Nostradumbass
Comment Up Votes 200 Up Votes   Comment Up Votes 500 Up Votes    1,000 Up Votes    3,000+ Up Votes

Comments 50 Comments   Comments 100 Comments    250 Comments    500 Comments    1000+ Comments