The Warriors’ situation with Jonathan Kuminga has become much more complex than anticipated.
But as a 13-year NBA veteran, Draymond Green understands the business side of the league.
When recently asked for his two cents on the matter, the Warriors star forward shared a forthright response on Threads.
“Negotiations are rarely easy,” Green wrote, “but they usually get done in the end.”
Well, that is the hope.
The situation has dragged out all offseason, and with training camp less than two weeks away, a resolution still is being worked out.
But one seems to be near.
Golden State upped its offer to the 22-year-old wing to three years and $75.2 million with a team option for the third season, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported Monday, citing sources. Slater shared that Kuminga and his agent, Aaron Turner, want the team option to be changed into a player option and they’ll accept the deal, which was confirmed by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson.
Since Kuminga entered the league in 2021 as the No. 7 overall pick by the Warriors, Green has taken him under his wing every step of the way.
Earlier this offseason, Green was critical of the NBA and how its new CBA rules have impacted the free-agent market.
“Sadly, I sit here and watch so many players overplay the market and not understand what they are up against with the new rules,” Green wrote on Threads in early July. “Which leads me to trying to understand the [staggering] percentage of guys that has no idea of THE BUSINESS they are a part of. And I as a ‘VET’ in this league watch players mismanage their careers and before they know it, look back like DAMN, where to next?”
While his multiple-post rant raised plenty of eyebrows, Green made it clear that he wasn’t solely talking about Kuminga’s situation with the Warriors.
“Also before y’all run and make this about [Jonathan Kuminga], it isn’t,” Green wrote. “He’s 22 and will be great and make a bunch of money, so this ain’t got nothing to do with him.”
Seventy-two days after those posts, nothing about Kuminga’s situation has changed.
Regardless of the outcome, however, it’s clear that Green wants the best for his mentee.
