The Warriors still believe in Jonathan Kuminga. Now the question is, do they believe in him here?
Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy spoke about the 22-year-old forward’s future during an appearance on “The TK Show” with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on Friday, and made it clear he still sees upside.
“As a young player, I love the personal ambition,” Dunleavy said. “That’s what I see, first and foremost, with the comments. He’s a guy that believes in himself, wants to see what he can do. I think, ultimately, if we’re able to bring him back, we see a path for him to be able to do some of those things here.”
Kuminga is set to become a restricted free agent when free agency opens on June 30. That means he can negotiate with other teams, but the Warriors will have the right to match any offer he receives.
The former No. 7 overall pick has had an up-and-down run in Golden State. He’s shown flashes of becoming a top-tier scorer, but also spent stretches buried in Steve Kerr’s rotation, going from DNPs to leading the second unit on a near-nightly basis.
Dunleavy acknowledged that the team still hasn’t fully locked in a role for Kuminga, which will play a big part in the upcoming negotiations.
“I think that will come out in the wash. It will get figured out, honestly,” Dunleavy said. “And that would be the calculus on us bringing him back and him wanting to be back here. So these are all of the things we have to go through and figure out. These are all questions that just can’t really be answered until we know what the deal is.”
Kuminga has been vocal about his desire to be “great” and make an All-Star leap, per The Athletic.
“…I feel like I’m at the point where that has to be my priority, to just be one of the guys a team relies on. Aiming to be an All-Star. Multiple times. Aiming to be great. … Wherever I’m going to be at, it don’t matter if it’s the Warriors or if it’s anywhere else, it’s something I want. I want to see what I could do. I know I got it. So I want to really see. I’ve never got that chance.”
Whether that happens in a Warriors jersey or elsewhere remains to be seen. But for now, the front office is keeping the door open.
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