The latest on Jonathan Kuminga & Warriors’ offseason plans | NBA Today

The latest on Jonathan Kuminga & Warriors’ offseason plans | NBA Today

Miami traded forward Haywood Highmith to the Brooklyn Nets. A move that gets the Heat under the tax line for this coming season and creates roster flexibility. The Heat are also You didn’t know, huh? We’re we’re we’re telling our guy that the news about his team. The Heat are also sending his second round pick in 2032 to Brooklyn, which is sending a conditional second round pick in next year’s draft to Miami. With Highmith being moved, Miami now has two open roster spots. Well, this summer has summer has seen plenty of moves in free agency with plenty of players getting paid, but there are still some notable players available. Several restricted free agents are still waiting to get a deal done, including the Warriors, Jonathan Kaminga. We have talked and heard a lot about this. For more on Kaminga, our Warriors reporter Anthony Slater joins us now on NBA Today. Anthony, where do these negotiations stand now that we are halfway through August? Well, there’s been renewed conversations between the two sides. there’s dialogue, but as you all know, talking doesn’t necessarily equal movement. You know, they’ve shared contract concepts and opinions about the whole thing, you know, between each other this last week, dating back to to last weekend. But, um, you know, Kaminga wants more of a player friendly deal, more of a signal of that that he’s a building block, not just a trade asset. The word I’ve heard from from the Kaminga side is pawn. he doesn’t want to sign this two-year $45 million deal with a team option where he is clearly just being used to be traded mid-season. Uh that’s not something he wants to sign up for. Now, if you’re talking about a three-year deal, if you’re talking about something with a player option that that shows him a little bit more commitment, that’s something he’d be interested in. Uh but as of now, the Warriors have been hesitant to do that. And because of of that, uh Kamiga is signaling to those around him that he’s very willing and and prefers the qualifying offer over the 2-year $45 million deal. And that’s dangerous for the Warriors. they can try to call his bluff, but right now uh it seems to be trending towards the qualifying offer. Well, it’s not just that this situation is happening with Kaminga, it’s that it’s halting any other other offseason moves uh that the Warriors could make. So, what’s their plan to fill out the rest of that roster? Yeah, I mean, it’s the same name we’ve all been talking about for what, six weeks now, seven weeks. Uh you know, Al Horford, you know, he’s clearly ticketed to to be their starting center if that gets wrapped up. The Anthony Melton uh is a name that they like. Steph Curry, uh, their second round pick, Will Richard, is a guy I expected to to potentially be on their roster. Gary Payton the second, but again, as you mentioned, they are are all waiting for Kamiga, but from my understanding, from what I’ve heard, you know, they’re aware of the situation. They’re aware of the complexities and they’re comfortable in this holding pattern because training camp is still a while away. But I will say August is a lot easier for people to just be like, “Okay, we we’ll get to you when we get you.” September is where it starts to get a little bit more uncomfortable in this entire situation. And that’s where I don’t know if there’ll be movement or or a little bit more angst on the Warriors or Kaminga side, but but September uh is where this could get get a little bit, you know, diceier. So, here’s the basic question. What do you think happens next? Yeah. again, you know, unless the Warriors are willing to up their offer or reopen sign and trade conversations, which they’ve shut down to this point, uh I, you know, people can, you know, question whether Jonathan Kamiga will willingly not take $14 million more, you know, and take the 2-year $45 million deal. But you talk to people around him and he’s pretty dug in. Like if this is going to be the best offer, if two for 45 with the team option is going to be the best offer, he will see them in training camp on a $7.9 million expiring qualifying offer which includes a no trade class because he wants either to, you know, to be viewed as more of a building block or he wants his freedom, you know, his control of his future and the qualifying offer while less money gives him control of his future. Yeah, somebody’s going to have to give. Thank you so much, Anthony, for the information. and I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again here soon. The Warriors have had a tough stretch to start the season as they are on the road for 12 of their first 18 games. That’s the most road games in the NBA for the first month of the season. But that didn’t stop Steph when asked if they can win a championship. Here he is with ABC’s Larry Beal. Can three guys over the age of 35 really contend for a championship? We’re going to find out. I think we can. There’s a a level of knowhow. I think what we did last year, those last third of the season after the trade deadline where we were top three in the league, both offense, defense, all the all the metrics that show we were a really good team. Obviously, we have to stay healthy, get through the, you know, regular season at a high level. But I like the identity that we have and the foundation of knowing how to play together, you know, towards the end of last season that we can hopefully translate to this year. So, I know we’re going to get that question asked a lot because the age and this is something that hasn’t you haven’t really seen before, but um that’s the the beautiful challenge of this game. So, the lack of moves don’t seem to bother Steph. He seems incredibly confident in the Warriors ability to win yet another championship. Mark, is this situation something? Is it nothing? Is it everything? Considering the fact that the Warriors have nine nine players on their roster right now, I’m going to say everything and and and maybe I’m too close to it cuz I live in the Bay Area and I can’t go anywhere there without somebody asking me about JK and and what’s going to happen. I mean, you got several people just waiting to to get their deal done. Several people waiting to get settled, waiting on JK. I’m hearing Dun Levies talking to his agent on a regular basis and you know somebody’s going to blink and ultimately I I feel like the Warriors going to have to blink to get it done. Doesn’t make sense to sign him to a 7.9 oneyear deal because you need the asset and I think JK and his people know that. Um but also JK’s made $24 million in his career so far. It’s a lot of money to turn down. Uh, you know, there’s a line in, uh, you know, the movie Boomerang where you say, “Take the money, fool.” I think ultimately he’s going to have to take the money. Not calling him a fool, but take the money. And like Paul George, figure out the rest later. But if somebody trades for him, they trade for him because they want him. Yeah. And that hasn’t happened yet. I mean, like they they’ve had great offers for Kaminga over the years. I mean, they could have had Alex Kusha on their team a couple years ago if they would have been willing to part with Jonathan Kaminga. that and and I I the thing that’s hard for me I I think is nothing because I think he’s going to be on the Warriors and the only question is how much are they paying him. I think there’s an easy solution here which is that the Warriors give him an extra year. Uh it’ll be like a two plus one where they he has a little more control over his grits, a little more guaranteed money. And I do think the Warriors see him as somebody who’s if if he wants to call it a building block, I don’t know if I would call it that, but somebody they want around for a long time because they have 35 year olds on their team. And I know the owner Joe Leo has told him this. He that he loves Jonathan coming. He’s the reason that they have never included him in trades because they see the potential in him. But the question is not whether he’s going to be back, but what kind of attitude is he going to have? If it is he’s been spurned and he’s got a bad attitude, he’s going to sit on the bench. That’s not going to help them. But they they didn’t really use him that much once they traded for Jimmy Butler. It was sort of Jimmy or Kaminga and they went 23 and seven when they traded for Jimmy towards the end of the year. So I I think Steph’s right. I think they can contend. So Ramona, you say it’s nothing. Mark says everything. Yodonis Hasslam, you say it’s I’m not going to overreact, but I think it’s a little something. But I’m going to say this right now. I’ve been in this league a long time. If you have Jimmy Butler’s heart, you have the IQ of a Draymond Green, and you have the greatness of Steph Curry, then you got a chance on any given night against any team in this league. But what you don’t have is the youth and athleticism that Jonathan Kaminga possesses. So, they need a guy like that. If it is not Jonathan and Kaminga, then another guy that can be a Swiss Army knife that can guard multiple positions and that can get up and down the floor and go vertical from time to time. They need a guy like that. So, if it’s not Kaminga, then they need another guy like that. But I’m inclined to say like try to make this situation work. But I’m looking around. I’m looking at the Chicago Bulls and I’m looking at the Golden State Warriors and I’m saying Josh Giddy looked like a guy that could fit great over in Golden State and Jonathan Kaminga looks like a guy that possibly could fit good in Chicago. I remember reading an article just a little while ago where Josh Giddy’s father said that there was interest from Golden State in Kaminga, but OKC took him at six and they said that Golden State would take him at seven. So I’m I’m just saying this might be a solution. I’m no GM. This might be above my pay grade, guys. But this might be a solution to some people problems. You’re in the front office. Ramona, look, I think Josh Giddy’s looking for a deal that’s more like $30 million a year and the Bulls are around 20. I do think that you make a very good point, you do, that he would fit the way the Warriors play. He’s a smart player. He moves the ball. He would fit really well into that offense and he’s tall and he gives him some size. You can you can play him as a defensive five if you want with Josh Kitty, even though he’s a point guard. So, I I think he would fit very well there, but I don’t know if they’re going to meet his price point either because they they obviously are restricted in what they can pay him based on the other salaries they have for their vets. Well, whatever they do, it’s going to be on national television a lot. The Warriors have 34 national TV games. Not a big change from last year. Here’s a look at the biggest changes of national TV games compared to last year. The Pistons and Thunder are among the biggest risers and the Suns are the biggest faller. Ramona, which team will be your league pass squad for the season? and the team that you’re like really excited to see. You’re setting your DVR to them. Listen, we have not talked enough about Victor Winyama coming back and the San Antonio Spurs. They they have an amazing squad, this young team. Now, I I know I think they’re going to miss Chris Paul a little bit, but I’m excited to see De’ar Fox running the break with that guy out there and his having him back and healthy in this league. That was a scary situation he had last year with the blood clots, but he is just scratching the surface. And I don’t I Victor in five years, I I don’t know if anyone can wrap their head around how good he’s going to be. Yeah. Mark, who’s your uh league pass team? I’m gonna go with the Orlando Magic. I know I’ve been pushing the Magic a lot this off season. Uh I think Palo is going to be MVP candidate. Whoa. Uh Vagner is going to be an allstar. Uh wow. The trade they made is huge. I just think they’re really going to take the next step and they’re fun to watch. They are super fun, Paulo. I think a lot of people are not educated on how much fun he is because the Magic weren’t on TV. They’re on the TV a lot more. But if you got the league pass, hey, tune in. The Magic put on a show and they’ve got a really catchy song, Orlando Magic. All right. You see, I know. I can’t stop seeing it either. Udonis Hasslam, who who’s your league pass team? Who are you excited to watch this season? I know everybody’s going to say I’m being biased, but I’m not being biased. I’m just being honest. I got I’m not being biased. I’m just being honest. I will take a look and I will keep my eyes closely on the Miami Heat. I look at this team and I say, “This is a team.” Oh, really? Oh, really? I might even stop by practice or two and keep my eyes even closer. But, uh, this this is a lot. This is this is team where I say these guys have struggled scoring, but they’ve been in the top five, top 10 defensively every year. This is a situation where you bring in a guy who can put the ball in the hole in Norma Pow. You have a guy like Tyler Herro who’s former sixman of the year who can put up a dub in his sleep. You have Bam Mabayo can play both sides of the basketball court. You get Pa Larson coming back with some experience after last year. You also have Wigs getting a year up under his belt. And Terry Rosier, I understand Terry Rosier did not have a great season since he’s been in Miami, but this is a guy who also was able to wake up in the morning and put a dub up on you real quick. This is five guys on this roster that can go for 20 points. No, everybody is not going to score 20 points on every night, but this gives the team depth and this makes this team dynamic. If they can continue to defend at the rate that they’ve been able to defend, I have no doubt like Le supposed no going to put them boys in position to be successful offensively. And you caught a little flack, but all three of us actually the Miami Heat are also going to be exciting. Exciting to watch. It’s always good for us when the Heat are good. Yeah, for sure. All right.

On NBA Today, the panel discusses the Golden State Warriors’ offseason as Anthony Slater speaks about Jonathan Kuminga remaining unsigned. Plus, Ramona Shelburne, Marc J. Spears and Udonis Haslem make their pick for the team they’ll watch the most of League Pass this season.

0:00 Haywood Highsmith traded to Nets
0:30 Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors
9:06 The panel’s League Pass team to watch

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