Jonathan Kuminga wanted “well in excess” of $30 million to sign a new extension with the Golden State Warriors before Monday’s deadline, Monte swimming pool from NBC Sports Bay Area, but the team deemed his ask too high and now the 22-year-old forward will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season.

That is, if he reaches free agency status and isn’t traded before then.

Jake Fischer told B/R that there are rumors that the Brooklyn Nets have already prepared a trade sheet for Kuminga and the Warriors (4:00).

The Nets, in the midst of an organizational rebuild, are smart to observe Kuminga.

The 0-2 team has a few pieces that can be excited about, including Nic Claxton, but the current roster is a mix of veterans and inexperienced players, none of whom have proven particularly effective in getting the team out of the doldrums. the Eastern Conference.

Kuminga is young, has shown the sparks of a star player and could get a change of scenery himself, amid the aforementioned lack of overtime, playing time and the continued wait for him to prove he’s earned a larger, long-term contract.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr detailed Kuminga’s history with the team before the season started, including when he had to sit him or remove him from the rotation entirely.

He also spoke about his inexperience, recounting Tim Kawakami of The TK show podcast: “He’s still so young, if it was 20 or 30 years ago, he would have just finished his fourth year of college or his first year in the NBA. When you add all that in, I love it where JK is right now because he’s improved a lot, but he still has room to grow, which is the exciting part. So, I talked to him about this coming year and my expectations. , he’s enthusiastic about it, he loves it here, he told me.

Whether Kuminga likes the team or not doesn’t make up for the fact that he still doesn’t have an extension, something Kerr also talked about.

“I think the hardest thing for him is he doesn’t have an extension yet and he’s seen some of the same guys in his draft class get extensions, but he understands the business. He still has things to prove, and he’s committed to going out and doing them and I’m going to help him every step of the way and I’m excited about it.”

Kuminga played his highest number of minutes per game in 2023-24, averaging 26.3. He scored 16.1 points per game while shooting 57.8 percent from the paint and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc, a weakness that stood out among the team’s otherwise characteristic three-point shooting. Warrior.

He added 4.8 total rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.7 steals in his best season to date.

Two games into the 2024-25 season, he’s back below 20 minutes per game and has averaged just six points per game.

If the Warriors aren’t committed to letting him show what he can do with a little more time on the court, while continuing to cite Kuminga’s need to prove he’s worth the investment, he may -be better for the team to pursue a trade partner and get something in return for him before he becomes a free agent next offseason.

If the Nets are willing and able to pursue their own building blocks, this would be a mutually beneficial deal.

The Warriors no longer have to rely on Kuminga’s potentially distracting chatter and get something in return for him, while the young forward gets the chance to play for a Nets team that doesn’t have enough depth before quality to keep him off the field.

Is this ideal given the Warriors’ questions about youth depth behind stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green?

No, but it ticks the proverbial band-aid and allows the organization to focus on maximizing the time it still has with its future Hall of Famers and potentially competing for a title rather than answering questions and comments on when their young and potential star of the future will see the court and get paid.

Especially if Kerr and Co. aren’t sure he’s a good fit for what they love and want to do.