This summer, the Golden State Warriors have a number of significant players who are eligible for extensions, but not all of their goals are the same.
At the opening of Summer League on Saturday, July 12, in Las Vegas, general manager Mike Dunleavy had a press conference. Reporters questioned him about potential new contracts for 2021 NBA draft selections Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, as well as Stephen Curry, who has the option to sign a $62.6 million one-year extension that would keep him under contract through 2026–2027.
Dunleavy expressed his desire to secure extensions for Kuminga and Moody, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “Curry’s extension is also of utmost importance.”
In the second part of her X post, Andrews clearly quoted Dunleavy.
Dunleavy remarked of Curry, “That guy can get whatever he wants.” “I believe that everything will work out and he will always be a warrior.”
In the July 11 edition of “The Lowe Post” podcast, ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Tim McMahon made the suggestion that Golden State either trade Kuminga quickly or commit to him by signing an extension that will keep him in the starting lineup for the upcoming season.
“Recall that Kuminga returned to a bench role at the end of the previous season after starting and excelling,” Lowe stated. “I just think Kuminga has to start, no matter what.”
McMahon concurred, mentioning Kuminga’s problems from the previous campaign with his inconsistent inclusion in the starting lineup.
McMahon shot back, “I think you’ve got to either start him or aggressively look to move him.” “His camp made some noise last year,” the story goes.
Last week, Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Warriors, made an appearance on 97.5 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs” program. In that interview, Kerr acknowledged that the group has discussed trades with Kuminga.
“You have to realize, first of all, that very few players in the league are not discussed in trade talks,” Kerr stated. “Trade discussions are not bringing up Stephen Curry. Everyone else is as well.
When describing the necessity of Golden State deciding to sign Kuminga long-term or trade him to a team where he can start over next season—when he will just be 22 years old—Lowe cited Kerr’s remarks.
Lowe predicted that everything would eventually come to a head. “If they get together in Vegas…” ‘Hey, we’re going to training camp; Steve will make the decision; maybe [Kuminga] comes off the bench, maybe he doesn’t,’ is the message that runs through it. That just doesn’t seem possible anymore. That seems like it might be a radioactive bomb.
Kuminga may still be involved in the most likely deal that is currently on the table, which features Utah Jazz big man Lauri Markkanen, a former All-Star.
Although Golden State has three (two unprotected) first-round picks that it can part with, that deal is likely to be highly reliant on those picks, and the Jazz will probably want at least one young player who can be a part of its core group going ahead.
According to McMahon’s statement on Thursday, “educated speculation” indicates that the player is Brandin Podziemski, a shooting guard in his second season who was named to the First Team All-Rookie team the previous season and replaced Klay Thompson in Curry’s starting lineup for a stretch in 2023–24.
But Kuminga might be the premium player in any deal including Markkanen, according to Lowe. In that trade, Lowe continued, he doesn’t think Golden State should give up Kuminga and its top future draft picks.
“What’s up with Markkanen leaving enough in the cabinet?” Lowe enquired. “I believe that a team that is probably not good enough to win at a high level is losing too much ground to Kuminga and a plethora of picks.”
According to Basketball Reference, Kuminga set career highs in points (16.1), rebounds (4.8), assists (2.2), minutes (26.3), games played (74) and starts (46) in the previous season. He is qualified for a five-year extension worth up to $224 million this summer and is about to enter the final season of his four-year rookie contract, which is worth roughly $25 million overall.
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