Quiet Part Said OUT LOUD: Jonathan Kuminga No Longer Wants To Be With Golden State Warriors

Quiet Part Said OUT LOUD: Jonathan Kuminga No Longer Wants To Be With Golden State Warriors

It is official straight from the man himself, Jonathan Kaminga. Once out of Golden State, will he get his wish? You are Locked On Warriors, your daily Golden State Warriors podcast. What are they going to say now? Part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. What is the good word everyone? Welcome to the Lockdown Warriors. We’re part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. You can check out this show on YouTube streaming live currently. You can also check us out wherever you get your audio podcast. We are free. We are available. We are never behind a payw wall delivering you Golden State Warriors content pretty much non-stop whether news is happening or not. There’s a lot to get into on today’s show. First of all, let’s tell you about our sponsor. It is Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. For those of you hanging out with us live, hop in that chat, hop in the comments, hit the likes, they equal Golden State Warriors wins. And let’s dissect this thing. My name is Charlie Walter. Cover the team for 957. That’s the radio station the Warriors play on. also covered the team on TV KPIX CBS News Bay Area. Kylin Mills joining me tonight. Formerly Crown 4, NBC Sports Bay Area. You can now hear her on the Big 10, ion, many other sports networks. She covers the NBA, the WNBA, and tonight breaks down a whole lot of Jonathan Kaminga. What is up, Kyle? And how we doing? Doing great, Chuck. Uh, quite the drama to talk about in Warriors Land today. I’m still waiting for somebody to get signed, but in the meantime, we got to figure out what’s going on with Jonathan Kaminga. The situation is starting to get messy. I mean, not starting to get messy. It’s been messy and getting messier at this point, sign the dude or let him walk. That’s where I’m at. Before we were reading tea leaves, we’re now reading Instagram posts. We’re hearing actual words out of Kaminga’s mouths, out of his mouth, per you know, Shams and other reporters essentially that uh he’s not happy. The writing was on the wall and now it’s it’s not on the wall. It’s all over the internet. This thing has become public. I tried to watch a little bit of Happy Gilmore 2 today to kind of brighten up the spirits because this has been a depressing saga. Was very excited with the cameos in there and the role of Shooter McGavin, but that’s a uh a breakdown for another day when you’ve seen it as you know, Kylin. Happy Gilmore, my favorite movie, the second one. U did it disappoint? Depends who you ask. Anyways, Jonathan Kaminga, this whole saga has disappointed. The latest we have heard regarding Jonathan Kaminga. Two years 45 million is what he has been offered. There’s a team option in there which would allow the Warriors potentially or the the team that he’s traded to to pull the rug out from under him after one season and he doesn’t have any control of that. They also would wave the no trade clause that Kaminga wants in there. That’s 22.5 million per year. JK said absolutely not. So, the Warriors have apparently changed their mind on any sort of a signing trade. They’re saying, “Look, we’re going into the season expecting Jonathan Kaminga to be a part of this team. Whether he accepts the qualifying offer, whether he takes this final deal we’re offering of 22.5 million, he can be our guest, but this is as high as we’re going. This is it. And we expect him to be ready to go for camp and be a part of this team.” Your thoughts on all of this? My thought is that I don’t think the dollar amount part of this offer is egregious. When you look at 45 million over the course of two years from the reports that are out though, Kaminga wants to be locked in for longer. He doesn’t like the fact that there’s a team option in year number two. Apparently, according to multiple reports out there, that’s the big sticking point. But if the dude is saying that he wants to bet on himself, like isn’t that betting on yourself? If you go with that, you know, if you go with that contract and then you assume or you believe that you’re going to get the team’s going to opt in for the second year because you’re going to ball out this upcoming season. So, I don’t know. It’s odd to me that’s the sticking point, but the fact that the Warriors organization would have control, as you talked about, I think the trade clause would be the bigger sticking point in my eyes, which I do understand. Uh my thing is just that I don’t see the future that Jonathan Kaminga envisions for himself aligning with the future that the Warriors see for him, at least in the immediate future. Uh, head coach Steve Kerr has said on podcast that right now that Jonathan Kaminga on radio interviews that Jonathan Kaminga is not going to be a high usage player. Uh, that he’s not going to be someone in a star role. And Jonathan Kaminga feels like he’s ready to be a star right now. He’s made it very clear through a multitude of media interviews. Uh, his post today, which I know we’re going to get into a little bit later on Instagram, you know, basically talking about betting on himself, his agent reposting it, saying that legends never die. It’s very clear that Jonathan Kaminga wants to be a star right now. And I know we’re also going to talk about a recent quote from one of those articles that says that he feels like the Warriors stunted his growth. And you can make the argument that’s true. They stunted his growth compared to going to a Washington Wizards organization that’s absolute trash where he would be able to play unlimited minutes, do whatever he wants with a basketball and be ball dominant and score, you know, as much as he want, run up the numbers, right? Uh, and that’s not going to happen in a Warriors organization where he came in his rookie season and won a championship. He came in and had to play a role and that role was not being a superstar and it never will be as long as Steph Curry is on this team. So, I think, okay, that’s fine. Warriors, figure out how to make a signing trade happen because if this guy doesn’t want to be here and play that role that the Warriors have to offer him right now, then it’s time for both sides to part ways. And I do feel like he needs a change of scenery. And for the Warriors, like why keep a player here who’s going to be discontent with what you’re asking him to do? There is a lot of blame pie to dish out here with extra whipped cream. Uh first of all, I saw this tweet recently. This is from August 25th of 2021. LeBinga are future pillars. This is his life after Steph. We still have Steph. Second team NBA staff. in five years. He thinks these guys are going to be really good. They’re going to be the foundation of this team. Boy, was that a little bit brutal. I want to start off with a statement before anything else so that um hate doesn’t get lost in in what I’m about to say and what is about to surely be a rant here, a long rant. So, Kylin, buckle your seat belt, grab some popcorn, crack open an ollipop, whatever. The front office screwed up this situation. They’ve now screwed up a few. Trying to trade guys at the wrong time when it’s too late. Specifically Wiseman, now JK. They also screwed up drafting a player who was never a system fit. Clearly, because you can’t argue that the stats page, the stats page alone would say that JK hasn’t been effective. I mean, 15 points, five rebounds last season. Therefore, you want something from a player like Kaminga that will he’ll never provide you because that’s not who he is apparently. That’s on the Warriors. That is not on Kaminga. So, it’s fair that JK would like to go somewhere else when his time’s up in the Bay. It’s his life. You do you. Now, here’s where I really get into the rant. Here’s where I have some things to say. First of all, Jonathan Kaminga believes the Warriors have stunted and strung his career along for four seasons per ESPN. And then he comes out after and says, “I’ll bet on myself all day.” He tags his agent in his Instagram post and he says, “Hashtag just know putting it out there publicly that he’s betting on himself. AK to me taking the qualifying offer. He’s he’s down to, you know, arm wrestle with the Warriors. He says, “I’ll take the qualifying offer. I will bet on myself in this situation.” He puts it out there publicly. He wants to be gone. Sham’s all but confirms it. Slater’s confirmed it. Kaminga doesn’t want to be a warrior anymore. It’s that simple. First of all, strung along your career. I guess a ring doesn’t matter, right? Legends would have given anything. Anything to have a simple ring on their finger. Anything. Barkley, Reggie Miller, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, James Harden. The list is long of guys that have never won one, legends that have never won one. He had won a title by 19, playing 16 minutes a game on a championship team. Very fair. I guess the 22 million that you’re being offered right now, I guess it’s just Monopoly money. Demard Rosen has never made more than 27 million in his career. That is a sixtime all-star. He’s also averaging like 24 a game last year with the Kings and is making I think 23 million something along those lines. And then the comment, I’ll bet on myself every single time. Wouldn’t that be like you said to take the contract knowing that you’re going to make more money this season? You’re definitely going to be traded. The Warriors don’t want to deal with you anymore. You’re going to be traded. I promise you they don’t want a full year of this. And then you’re unrestricted when you’re 24 years of age with 45 million in your checking account. and instead you’re tagging your agent like you’re Bonnie and Clyde to take this thing. I I just don’t understand it. Does he not realize he’s the restricted free agent here that the Warriors had no issue giving DMPS to in the playoffs last season? A team that was like 15 and one without him once they added in Jimmy. And this guy who has done nothing nothing aside from scoring 30 points and losses at the end of the day thinks that he holds the power here. This is exactly why I believe the reports that Steph Curry actually came out and said, “You know what? Play Geese Santos in some of these meaningful minutes down the stretch here against the Denver Nuggets.” Some of those reports that we heard last season, Lakers, that that stretch. That’s why this is a I’m a star mentality that he has. So, go be a star in Sacramento. What are the Warriors waiting for? Again, this is on both sides here. I I don’t want to put all the blame on Kaminga. That’s why he started with the front office. I truly think Kaminga is a solid player, but the guys averaged 25 minutes per game for two straight seasons. He averaged nearly 10 shots per game the past two seasons. They gave him 16 minutes per game as a 19-year-old on a championship team. Enjoy your ring. Sorry it stunted your development. Sorry about it. You’re 22 years of age. I hear a ton of me me in this situation. You’ve played with Hall of Famers. You’ve been coached by a Hall of Famer. He’s 22 years of age. They’re offering your age in millions of dollars and he doesn’t want to accept it. That’s fine because the Sacramento Kings will offer a starting role with Zack Lavine and Demard de Rozan. Hm. How the hell is that going to work out? Anyways, floor is yours to respond to that. Sorry about the R. I’m just trying to process all of it. Um, I think you made a lot of great points and and you brought up the same thing that I brought up uh right off the top and that was the fact that uh you know you won a championship in your first season in your rookie season and that is something that has eluded so many of the great players in the NBA in two straight seasons. You played alongside a Hall of Famer and Steph Curry and like you said a Hall of Fame head coach. As much as I’ve been the first one to criticize Steve Kerr at the end of the day, like as a rookie coming into a winning organization, like what else would you expect in your first couple of years knowing that you have the opportunity to play for championships versus again rookies who go into situations like the Wizards where you know you’re going into to a dumpster fire, but you’re going to have unlimited leash and yeah, you’re going to be the star, but you’re not going to win basketball games. You know, those those are the options a lot of times for high draft picks. And so at the end of the day for me, like I’d rather learn from champions, be in a winning culture, learn from one of the best, greatest players of all times and have a title in your first year. Um, that’s just me. Uh, do we want to take a break real quick because I actually do have a rant, but I don’t want to get us too off schedule. Yeah, we we’ll get into the rant in just a minute. Uh when we continue, obviously the conversation continues to be about Jonathan Kaminga betting on himself. The fact that this is the Warriors final offer. Will maybe they bulk and at some point offer something a little bit different? What are the outcomes we can get from this at this point? And Jonathan Kaminga wanting to be a Sacramento king. Here’s what it would look like. That’s what it would look like, folks. Locked on Warriors coming up right after this. All right, let’s tell you about our sponsor. It is Monarch Money. If you haven’t heard about Monarch Money, well, I bet you wish that managing your money felt a little bit easier. And with Monarch, it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s like having your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than just a budgeting app. It’s a complete financial command center. 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So, the Sacramento Kings have offered a long-term deal. It sounds like per the reports. Four years, $90 million is what I believe 90 something million was what the uh the final number was there. And then the Phoenix Suns have a signing trade off for Jonathan Kaminga is Weiss O’Neal. It’s Nick Richards and it is four second round picks per Mark Spears. The Warriors apparently, last we heard, per Slater, don’t want anything to do with these signing trades. They basically believe that they hold all the uh the power in this situation. They expect Jonathan to be ready to go, to accept this deal, or to truly bet on himself, like he said, and take the qualifying offer of 7.9 million. Here’s what I don’t understand, Kylin. 22.5 million is the number that they’ve offered. There is a team option in there which to me basically says if they can’t get anything for Kaminga at the deadline, they’re going to dump you anyways. They don’t want you long term. That’s what I’m getting from that team option in there. So, one way or the other, you’re not going to be a Golden State Warrior after this season. Now, the no trade clause, that’s something that could be a little bit dicey for Kaminga if he wants a specific spot. Is his specific spot seriously the Sacramento Kings with Demar and with Lavine with other ball stoppers? I heard someone in the chat say, “Well, they trade Demar somewhere.” Okay. To where? It’s It’s late in the offseason. It doesn’t work that way. This isn’t 2K. So, that is one of the things that I wonder and it just makes me wonder the 7.9, the 22.5. Either way, the Warriors control it for the most part. Why wouldn’t he just take the more the the higher offer in this situation? I I truly don’t understand that. Here’s the thing. Jonathan Kaminga is a restricted free agent. If another team can out and out offer him more money than the Golden State Warriors are willing willing to offer, he can take that and then the Warriors have to match him or they let him walk. The issue is with the cap space. I don’t think there’s a team out there who can offer Jonathan Kaminga more money that wants to pursue Jonathan Kaminga. That’s the thing right now is that reports are on the table that uh the Suns and the Sacramento Kings both have offers that are if I can pull it up four years and uh what was it Chuck in the $90 million range I believe. Um in terms like 20 Yeah, like 25 million a year. So 24 million is that they have to move pieces and that’s why they’re trying to execute some type of sign and trade with the Golden State Warriors. Like if Jonathan Kaminga was going to get a better offer that could come out and outright without a sign and trade that would have come and it hasn’t come. So now you’re looking at your options being like you said the qualifying offer this offer that’s come from the Golden State Warriors or you’re banking on the team figuring out something with with one of these teams that’s interested in sign and trade. But right now according to all the reports are out there the Kings and the Suns are not willing to offer anything that the Warriors are willing to consider. Um, so that puts you in a stalemate position. Here’s my thing with both sides, both parties involved. The Golden State Warriors and Jonathan Kaminga. I think both parties are guilty to some degree. This isn’t a trial. This isn’t one or the other. Guilty not guilty. I think they’re both guilty to some degree for sure. I think that Jonathan Kaminga has a right to be frustrated with how he was used at various times by this coaching staff, by the lack of playing time, by the inconsistent playing time, times where he’s playing great and all a sudden getting pulled and yanked and dnped or times that he’s played great in a single game and then all of a sudden not played in the fourth quarter where you’re like, make it make sense. At times he’s had a very short leash as we’ve talked about extensively on this show. And do I think the Warriors could have done a better job developing Jonathan Kaminga? Yes. Um, I also think that some of Steve Kerr’s comments about Jonathan Kaminga not being a big go-to player right now, uh, absolutely give him a right to be frustrated. Yeah, absolutely. Uh, but at the end of the day, you are still a young player who needs to prove yourself in this league. Like, you’re not a superstar yet. You’ve got ways to go. Um, and you can say the Warriors stunted your growth, but you won a ring in exchange for that. So, you know, there is a little bit of a payoff there. and getting drafted again to a Warriors or versus an organization where you would have been the best player but you wouldn’t have won basketball games. Let me let me chime in because this is such a huge question that I got to ask. What does like the stunting the growth first season win a championship 16 minutes per game. That’s fair, right? Second season you get your minutes when Wiggins is hurt or excuse me when Wiggins is gone for the the personal matter. Wiggins comes back you lose your playing time. That’s a fair argument, right? That’s years ago at this point. year three, a season before this past one. I mean, once Draymond was suspended, he’s getting 30 35 minutes a night at that point. Like, the team just wasn’t that good. There’s there’s not a lot to argue with in that situation. This year, he got hurt. He was playing serious minutes. Draymond was passing him the keys like he was supposed to be the dude and he was scoring 34 in back-to-back nights right before he got hurt and he got hurt. And then they brought in Jimmy Butler and the team started off 15-1. Like, what is the issue here? you were getting DNPs in the playoffs a season ago and you’re acting like the the Warriors can’t do it again w without you to where you hold all the power here and it’s just I I don’t see it in that light to where at the end of the day be a team player and do what you’re asked of to a certain degree. Yes. And here’s my issue with like I I don’t disagree with you. He has the right to be frustrated, but I also think that he needs to to some degree be a team player and realize that as a young player in this league at times you got to wait your turn. You got to go through some stuff, which is what he went through. Like he went through some stuff in terms of the inconsistent playing time and all that. I know you pointed out winning the championship, playing 25 minutes a night. Let’s face it, Jonathan Domingo wants to be the go-to guy. He wants to be playing 35 minutes a night. He wants to be getting the ball every time down the floor. like I you know it’s very clear he wants to be a superstar and the Warriors have not given him the leash to do that. Um so that’s where his frustration comes from and I do think that the Warriors could have done more to develop JK but I think that it there also is a perception that he’s not a team player and I think a lot of that comes from some of the reports and the leaks that have come out which is what I tweeted about and a lot of Lakers fans these random people were coming at me on Twitter and I’m here to stand on business because this is the issue then that ruins the image of Jonathan Kaminga. it becomes this narrative that he’s not a team player because he’s talking to the San Francisco Chronicle and doing an interview where he’s criticizing the coaching staff saying he’s unhappy, saying that he wants a bigger role. Uh even the post today about you know I’m going to do whatever I you know his his agent reposting saying that legends never die. Like you haven’t done anything to be a legend yet, bro. Like just take a step back for a minute. Um but I tweeted that I think he needs better PR. uh who whoever is in his camp doing his PR and advising him on what kind of publicity to do. And then there were all these leaks during the season about him being discontent. An article just came out, you know, about how he’s so focused on being a superstar. So focused on being he was a ghost during the playoff run. Remember that article that came out? Yeah. He was just in and out of the facility. He was essentially like a ghost, right? There just has been so much messiness and and again on both sides. I don’t think the Warriors as an organization should be absolved of any guiltiness for how they’ve handled Jonathan Kaminga. But at the same time, I I said this thing the thing about the PR staff, not that you can’t speak out if you don’t think you’re being treated right, but this just has been going on over the course of his entire tenure. And for a player who’s on their rookie contract, playing on a team that just won a title alongside Steph Curry to be constantly complaining about playing time and the way that he’s being used, like that just is not the kind of stuff that you put out there to the media. and he’s flat out said it in interviews and it’s flat out been reported coming straight out of his mouth in addition to like I said I think articles that have been leaked or where Anthony Slater is reporting well you know all of my sources and people in JK’s camp or whatever telling me he wants to be a superstar blah blah blah like I do believe that there is a level of responsibility for him to what kind of PR and coverage that he’s allowing out there because then I think that’s what’s created this narrative that JK is not a team player in addition to some things that I did see with my own eyes like I think that watching him on the bench there’s times where it’s clear like based on body language. He looked frustrated. I also think especially this past season, there were times where he came in the game before and after the injury where he just didn’t look engaged, which to me says something about the attitude, right? Like you look, you come in the game, you don’t look like you’re super engaged. You don’t look like you’re giving maximum effort. There is something to be said for that. There may be something there, but that’s why, like I said, I had people coming at me on Twitter being like, “Oh, well, you’re saying shut up and dribble.” I’m not saying shut up and dribble. Look, like players have the right to say whatever they want, but I also think you got to play be smart. Play the game. The average person in a job gets, you know, how many times do people in an average job feel undervalued by their employer or underpaid? But guess what? If you go running your mouth to the media and posting all over social media or whatever, the equivalent would be bashing your boss, usually things aren’t going to end well for you. That doesn’t necessarily make you more marketable to future employers either. Um, so by no means do I feel like he needs to take whatever the Warriors are going to give him, but at the same time, I just think it’s gotten too messy and there’s been too much drama over the course of his tenure. And I think that it’s created this narrative around Jonathan Kaminga that maybe some from him again I think maybe some from PR like it’s just it’s turned into a mess. I think the best things for both sides is for JK to leave and for the organization to figure out a way to get something in return for for him walking because I just think the future for the Warriors and Jonathan Kaminga together is not looking like it’s going to be a pretty one. So at this point before things get uglier all parties need to move on. And I think JK would do better in another environment. And I don’t think the Warriors want someone on this team who’s not going to be happy with the role. And it’s very clear he’s not going to be happy with the role. Because listen, Steph Curry is back. And at the end of the day, Jimmy Butler’s back and JK maybe had an opportunity to step into stardom maybe this past year, but then he got hurt and Jimmy Butler got signed and brought in. And I don’t know what the Warriors game plan was and having JK and Jimmy on the team, but clearly JK is not going to be in a position where he’s going to be the star of the Warriors right now. So, let him go be a star somewhere else. That’s that’s my final that’s my final uh statement of the rant. How will the Warriors move on and get better from this whole predicament that they’re in? We’re going to talk about that coming up on Lockdown Warriors. Kylin, do you know what the only stat is that doesn’t lie? The only stat What’s that? I don’t know. What stat doesn’t lie. Minutes per game. It’s the only one that doesn’t lie. You can’t I mean, I guess technically you could go through some loophole to where if you’re destroying teams or getting destroyed consistently, you’re playing garbage time. And then maybe it lies that way. But minutes per game doesn’t lie. Jonathan Kaminga has received 25 minutes per game the last couple of seasons. This whole notion of he’s never had his opportunity to cook. JK’s been fumbled. they keep taking them in and out of the lineups, whatever it may be. Go through every single box score. Go through every single I had someone in the comments the other day saying JK when he when he scored 30 in the Minnesota uh game four, whatever it was was jerked around and he was benched in that game. He played 36 of 48 minutes. Like what what is benching to you is just routine rest after probably, you know, an 8 minute period. I don’t agree with you there. I think he has been benched and he has been pulled and he has been dmpped at times that don’t make sense. So, I got to push back on that one, Chuck. Okay, fair about that. Uh, this past season, do you think? I mean, the DNP obviously towards the end of the year, yes. But in terms of like the benching, he was playing pretty poorly in some of those Houston games that he played in slash uh not Minnesota, he was great in the Minnesota series, but the Houston series. Like he came in, they gave him an opportunity, especially the game when Jimmy was hurt and he didn’t look good. So they put him back on the bench. But I think, and this is where I think there’s a fair argument to be made, that this is where a young player needs consistency and needs consistent minutes and needs things to make sense in terms of when you’re in and out of the lineup. And that’s the whole issue is that the entire course of JK’s career there never has been really truly I believe rhyme or reason to when he gets more opportunities versus when he doesn’t. Um I think obviously the injury was a factor and I don’t disagree with you that there were times that he played poorly. Um but at the same time I I don’t think the minutes were managed and I think you you know I’ll go back and go through box scores this year but there were definitely games where he played like 15 minutes and I’m like huh after the injury there were games I’m looking right now they played the the Grizzlies. He scored 13 points, went four of six, three of three from the from the three-point line. Two rebounds, two assists, played 15 uh in January before his injury. Okay. But regardless, I I I think that there I think there’s an argument to be made in terms of him not being consist not being given consistent minutes over a period of time where he had the opportunity to play through mistakes. I also with you, there’s times that he played poorly. There were definitely times that he played poorly, but going back to even before the season, like my frustration came even more last year and the year before where the Warriors weren’t playing him consistently yet and him and Moses Moody both and they were 500 or below 500. So, it’s not like this is a championship team where it’s like, okay, well, you know what? Like, you can’t really afford to give the young guys time, you know, you can’t really afford to let the young guys play through mistakes because the team’s not winning basketball games. Like, why not let the young guys then develop? That’s more so where my frustration lies because going back last two seasons the the Warriors were a playing team and you’re still, you know, yanking your young players left and right and not giving them the opportunity to develop. So that’s where it’s like, man, that time could have been used for development when the Warriors were not close to winning a championship those seasons. All right, so let me answer this comment on the screen because I think I’m devil’s advocate. Like I said, I do think that there is blame on both sides. I think there’s 100%. I just don’t really get the notion that Kaminga, who played 25 minutes per game, a stat that doesn’t lie, the past two seasons, had he played 30 minutes per game, we’d know a lot more about JK than we already know. I think the coaching staff, at least the the one that’s the main decision maker, and whether you hate Steve Kerr or not, as long as he’s the head coach, there’s there’s not a lot we can do on this program. All that we can do is advocate for the guys to be here that that the head coach likes. Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense. So, this comment that comes in that says, “You say that Kaminga is not good, but you don’t want the bad product to leave. Please make it make sense.” I’ve said so many times on this program, I think he’s solid. I’m not like our guy Kevin in the chat, who’s got a great mustache, by the way, who, you know, is is anti- Kaminga for years. I I’m not that. I’m just saying in this current system that the Warriors run, they they know how it’s supposed to be done. They’ve won four championships in 10 years this way. It’s the same head coach. It’s the same freaking head coach. He didn’t just wake up one day and lose his damn mind. I I mean, I don’t understand. Yeah, but he didn’t develop those players. Like, I’m not saying that he’s not a smart basketball mind, but is he a coach who can develop? I mean, he took over a team that was on the rise and immediately took a middle of the pack offense to the best and just dominated the the art of ball movement. And I mean, Mark Jackson left behind a great defense, but some of the role players that Kerr’s been able to get to buy in. I mean, I I don’t know about that. Here’s the issue that I have. I’m talking about what young players has he developed. Okay, that’s not the argument right now. The argument right now is what is on the screen saying, you say he’s not good. He is good, but you don’t want the bad product to leave. The only reason that he should be leaving is because according to the head coach that makes the decisions. I mean, you can have an argument for another day. Fire Steve Kerr. If if you want to get into that, that that’s for another show. But as long as Steve Kerr is the head coach, if he doesn’t think that he fits what you want in his role, and he refuses to play that role, because apparently 25 minutes and 15 points per game and crashing the glass a little bit more isn’t what he wants to do or whatever. then I I don’t know what to tell you there. Like I think the DNPs were a byproduct of him coming back to the team late in the season post Jimmy Butler. Steve Kerr probably telling him on the side, here’s what I’m going to need you to do now that we have Jimmy on this team. Your role has shifted a little bit as compared to Andrew Wiggins. Here’s what we want. Jimmy’s one of the best passers in the game. Use your ability to cut. You know, move off the ball. Don’t let the ball stick in your hands. Find Steph. the the offense still flows around them. Don’t be a a ball stopper when it’s in your hands. Defensively, whatever. I mean, defensively, you got to learn by trial and error, like you said, more minutes there, but offensively, a lot of controllable things there. So, it’s not that we don’t want the bad product to leave because he’s not a bad product. He’s good. He’d just be better elsewhere. For all parties, it would be better. The issue is the front office screwed that up. It’s too late. You’re not going to get much better. you take what you can get. Apparently, the Warriors don’t want to take it. So, it’s up to them right now to somehow mend this relationship and make it work if that’s the route they truly want to go. That’s the Big Jay reporting that’s that’s come out from Slater and Company. I’m a firm believer that that’s a a whole bunch of of hogwash, as they call it, in the hills of Huntington, West Virginia. Hogwash. There’s absolutely no way he’s coming back to this team next year. No way. Uh I don’t know, man. Uh, I don’t know if I’m ready to say there’s no way that he’s coming back to this team next year because the Warriors for an office clearly is in a stalemate because they do not like the offers that are on the table. But at this point, I I’m with you, Chuck, and that I think they’ve got to figure out how to get a deal done because I’m in agreement with Megatron and the people in the comments that are saying free Kaminga, let him go. Let him fly. Let him be free. Um, can you respond to this comment? Well, I just don’t know that this relationship can be mended to the point where it is going to be constructive for Jonathan Kaminga to continue to be on this Warriors roster. He clearly wants to be a star on a team right now. And that’s not what the Warriors can offer and provide because Jimmy He said that he wants to be a consistent he wants to be someone that gets 30 plus minutes that that plays. That’s exactly what I read. He thinks he could be a star now. That he thinks he could be a star now. So that’s why I say let him go. like if he wants to do that, let him go do that somewhere else. Um he’s going to wait months and hurt their free agent signings and sign the qualifying offer. Well, yeah, that’s actually that would be probably a disaster for the Warriors, honestly, right? Have we gotten to be that petty to where you think that’s what he would actually do with that intention in mind? And and if that was the case, why not just take the money at that point? You have there’s a team option in there to where the Warriors don’t want to bring it back, man. like they’re going to actively try to trade you. Take the more money. You’re going to control your own destiny anyways. You may have to play for a team that you don’t want to play for for an extra season, but then by the time you’re 24, bet on yourself, hit the unrestricted free agency market with 45 mil in your your checking account. It’s all good. Yeah. I mean, so that’s the thing. Jonathan Kaminga could he could wait months and he could be petty and he could take the qualifying offer, but you’re forfeiting how much would it be again, Chuck? $14 million. $14 million is not a small chunk of change. That would be a lot of money to forfeit to ultimately be petty because like you said, Chuck, the team option is on the table. And and I agree with you to where I think that the Warriors are going to try to find a trade partner before the deadline. If that doesn’t happen, they’re going to opt out of that team option in the second year. And then Jonathan Kamingo would be in the same position he’d be in if he signed the qualifying offer, but he’d be 14 plus million dollars richer. So words, I know. But then again, you have to give up you have to give up the the control. Uh you have to give up the control though. I think that is a big thing and that according to the the reports is is the sticking point. And I can’t say I blame JK for that. I guess the onus would now be on on the Golden State Warriors to find find a partner and make a sign and trade happen. But okay, so if if this became if if this became like an arm wrestling match that Kaminga knew he was going to win, then okay, I can understand this comment right here. But from KS, not everyone prostitutes their freedom, Chuck. Regardless, the Warriors, they they hold the the cards at the end of the day. I mean, whether he accepts the qualifying offer or whether he accepts their offer, they can do whatever they want with him in terms of rotational minutes, right? Like, if he accepts a $7.9 million qualifying offer, they can absolutely they they just won a playoff series and went 15-1 without him last season, who’s not to say that he isn’t getting the same role as uh Kevin Knox this upcoming season. I think that would be a little bit ridiculous. But if you have someone that’s bitter and literally wants to be in a Sacramento Kings uniform, who’s to say that that doesn’t happen? How does that help your future as compared to just taking the money? There’s a team option in there. They’re not going to bring you back anyways. I mean, maybe he wants to be in Sacramento that bad to where, you know, he he accepts the qualifying offer in a year. He he takes a deal with Sacramento and he he goes up the road to the Capital. I truly don’t know. There’s just no logic in this from either side. No one’s gonna win here. It’s a It’s an arm wrestle that you’re just gonna do until eventually you both die, you know, in the middle of the arm wrestling match. I I I terrible analogy, but that’s all I got for you, Kylin. Any final words? Uh, my final words are that I did agree with a troll, uh, Todd Packer. I do want what’s best for the Warriors. I’m calling people out in the comments because why not? It’s fun. Um, I do want what’s best for the Warriors, but I think it’s clear that what’s best for both sides, whether you’re trolling or not, is the fact that Jonathan Kaminga moves on to his next team. And that the Warriors figure out how to get something in return for JK. Because ultimately, some of these scenarios we’re talking about, JK walks for nothing. Um, and you have someone on the team this upcoming season that doesn’t want to be there. Who knows? If his value plummets, then what are you going to get the trade deadline anyway? Then you end up watching his deal expire at the end of the season for what? I mean, not that his this last season helped his stock, but still figure out how you can get a deal done that allows him to go where he wants to go and allows the Warriors to move on with the upcoming season with players that want to be there on the roster. See if you can get something in return. Figure out how to make a deal happen. Um, and I just think that’s the best for all parties involved. I think Jonathan Kaminga is a talented player. I think what he wants, and clearly he’s not all about the money, clearly he wants a certain role. I think the Warriors can’t offer it right now and I don’t think they can promise him that. So why why are we trying to fit a square peg into a round hole continuously? Because they hold the power and they can and that’s kind of the route that they’re taking right now. Not that it’s fair, not that I condone it, whatever, but that’s that’s what they’re doing in the situation. To respond to Allen, he says Kaminga should take the qualifying offer, sit down, not show up like Jimmy did. There’s one problem for Kaminga. Jimmy was literally scoring like 60 in the playoffs leading a Heat team as an eight seed to the NBA finals. Jonathan Kaminga hasn’t won anything. Guess what? He was the main attraction in the Minnesota series. They lost every freaking game. Every damn game. So, he’s got nothing to stand on in that regard if he’s going to sit down the entire season. That doesn’t help him. That doesn’t help the Warriors. That doesn’t help anyone. The only person that it helps, the only people that it helps are the petty ones out there that love seeing the world crash and burn. To those of you, I salute you. I respect everyone’s opinion on this show. This is Locked on Warriors. There’s no such thing as a bad unless your opinion sucks. What’s up? I want to keep going. I said I just said I want to keep going. This is such an interesting interesting conversation because here’s the thing though. JK does have some leverage. Like the Warriors have more leverage, but JK has leverage of if he waits to sign that qualifying offer, what he has till October 1st. That would this has already become disastrous and that would be an actual nightmare. Can we answer this one real quick? Because uh we’re getting a comment out that says Kaminga has $290 million offers right now. These teams don’t have the cap to offer. They need the Warriors for a signing trade in order to get the job done. So that does no good. Yes, teams want him, but they can’t land unless the Warriors say, “We want your poo poo platter.” And the Suns are offering Royce O’Neal’s $10 million contract. I don’t know if the Warriors want that money on the books. It’s uh what another five million for Nick Richards. I don’t know if they want that money and I don’t think they care about the the four second round draft picks that they’re going to draft Alex Dwey or whatever anyways down the road. So to me it’s just like I don’t know it’s just an absolute game of strongarming right now that is looking horrible for both parties in my opinion. The agent’s hopping in. He’s getting on Twitter, you know, beefing with with people. He’s probably going to quote tweet me. Aaron, how are you? Good to see you. Um, yeah. I mean, that’s that’s the only thing I have to say on this matter. That person would have been right if they were outright offers, but that’s the issue, as you said, Chuck, like teams around the league that want JK, you’d have to have the cap space to offer him that kind of money. The Warriors can offer him outright without making, you know, without making a signin trade. That’s the whole issue is that it would have to involve a signing trade that the Warriors have to make happen and they won’t make it happen. Yeah. So, that’s why you said arm wrestling wasn’t a terrible because it is. It’s like who can strongarm who when it comes to the Warriors and JK. And JK doesn’t want to give up control. And I don’t I can’t say that I blame him. They’re just like this non-stop in the middle and and they can’t budge either way. Um I thought one of the things in the comment that I wanted to uh to bring up real quick basically is that the um uh I don’t even know at this point what I’m even going to say. Uh he signs the one-year deal. He’s He’s going to get paid. Look, I I think that the Warriors putting a team option into this offer for Kaminga is actually them like doing him a favor. To me, like reading the tea leaves, it’s kind of like, hey, we don’t want you back. We don’t want you back. So, if if no one wants you at the deadline or you get hurt or something and we can no longer trade you, we’re dumping you. So, so bet on yourself and take this thing and then guess what? We’ll trade you at the deadline. You’ll go to another team for a season and they’re going to pick up your option because they traded for you. Of course they are. And then you hit the the deadline a year later with more money in your pockets. That’s that’s me being the logical human being that knows that if you get $22 million in your bank account, there’s a thing called capital interest and you will be set for life. I mean the finance side of me. I don’t even know finances, but I know that that you don’t turn down however much money. And people in the chat, oh, he doesn’t prostitute his freedom. Give me a I can’t cuss on this show, but I want to. Anyways, this is Locked On Warriors. Last final thoughts. You got to cut it. All right, this is Lockown Warriors. Thank you for joining the program today. Great debate. Again, opinions always welcome, unless your opinions suck, and they’re still welcome. This is Locked on Warriors. Have one. Peace. Have a great night.

Jonathan Kuminga for the first time has voiced that he doesn’t want to be with the Golden State Warriors any longer, voicing that the Warriors have stunted and strung along his career for four seasons. Charlie Walter and Kylen Mills react to the latest development in the Jonathan Kuminga saga and discuss how they see this playing out.

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