Golden State Warriors combo forward Jonathan Kuminga’s emergence as a reliable, athletic scorer last year was one of the few bright spots in the club’s doomed 2023-24 season.
The 2022 champ averaged career bests of 16.1 points (on .529/.321/.746 shooting splits), 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per bout, while starting in 46 of his 74 available games.
Golden State as a team did not fare quite so encouragingly. The Warriors finished with a good-not-great 46-36 record and the Western Conference’s tenth seed but failed to escape the play-in tournament.
The 21-year-old is embarking on his fourth pro season this year. Like fellow 2021 NBA Draft lottery selection Moses Moody, Kuminga has yet to agree to a contract extension. If neither player inks a deal by Oct. 31, they will hit restricted free agency next summer — meaning Golden State can match any offer tendered their way by another team.
When asked about his approach to his fourth pro season during Golden State’s Media Day interviews on Monday, Kuminga says he is keeping team success a priority, writes Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard.
“Just going out there and pretty much helping us win,” Kuminga said.
“Me, personally, just showing how much I improved on so many things. And just looking forward to having a great season. Now that I’m used to it, now that I know what it is, now that I know what it takes to be one of the best, I mean, I went through the summer, worked hard, and I know what I’m going to bring to the table. I’m just looking forward to a new season.”
The 6-foot-8 wing has emerged as something of a tweener forward and faces questions about his positional future in Golden State.
“I’m not thinking about that right now,” Kuminga added.
“But I’m working toward it. The goal is me being a full starter. So I’m not even worried about what’s going to happen, because I know how much work I’ve put in. And I know once I step on that floor, things are going to change.”
Kawakami expects former four-time All-Star and 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green to slot in at power forward, not as a small-ball starting center, where the 6-foot-6 vet had finished the year.
If that comes to pass, one-time All-Star Andrew Wiggins seems likely to compete with Kuminga for that starting small forward spot. Kuminga had logged most of his time at power forward in 2023-24.
“I’ve always been a small forward, my whole life,” Kuminga said.
“And I don’t have a position at this point, because I feel like … when I go back in the summer, I work on everything. Because I’m a small forward, but I could play any position, so I never just define myself as small forward.”
Kawakami notes that, with Kuminga not necessarily a guaranteed permanent starter for the Warriors this year, he seems unlikely to notch the five-year, $224 million maximum contract extension his fellow 2021 lottery draft picks Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic and Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors both signed before the Halloween deadline. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of number Kuminga and his representatives want.
“I haven’t really got into it that much,” Kuminga said of extension talks.
“I don’t want to step my foot off track. I’m focusing on how can I be great? How can I help something? The better you play, the more you do things, everything’s going to open up itself. So I’m not worried about things like that because I know who I am, I know myself.”
Kuminga seems open to sticking around, but he also voiced being at least receptive to linking up with another team.
“I mean, who knows? I would love to,” Kuminga said.
“It’s God’s plan. I don’t know my future. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I would love for it to be open with the Warriors. But like I said, I don’t know my destiny. So whatever happens, it’s going to happen.”
