Warriors Predicted to Cut Ties With $25 Million Player After Postseason
The Golden State Warriors have reinvented themselves since the addition of Jimmy Butler ahead of the NBA trade deadline, but the franchise’s course correction is likely to lead to a significant change or two this summer.
Case in point, head coach Steve Kerr benched Jonathan Kuminga in the team’s final game of the season against the Los Angeles Clippers. It was also the most important game of the year to date, as the loss determined Golden State’s spot in the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed, while the Clippers captured the fifth seed and earned an automatic bid into the first round.
Kerr decided to keep Kuminga benched again in the Dubs’ play-in victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center on Tuesday. The hyper-athletic forward and former No. 7 overall pick has been at odds with the coaching staff before. Now, after the Warriors have all but cast him aside as they reformulate their lineups heading into the playoffs, team insiders are predicting that Kuminga will play elsewhere in 2025-26.
“The likely situation is [Jonathan Kuminga is] not going to be on the Warriors next season,” Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard told 95.7 The Game on Thursday, April 17. “Things can change, but all things being equal, it was probably going to be a tricky situation for him to come back to the Warriors anyway. … I don’t know that he’s going to be galloping to sign a new deal with the Warriors given all this.”
