Kumingga s contract renewal deadlock: Many rookies in the same class won a contract of 100 million yuan. Why was he ignored by the Warriors?

Translator's note: The original text was published in the San Francisco Chronicle. The data in the text were as of the time of publication (August 6, local time). The dates and times involved are local time. The views in the article have nothing to do with the translator and the platform.

In the 2021 NBA Draft, five of the six players before Jonathan Cumingga and the one who was selected immediately have won their big contracts.

Cad Cunningham and Evan Mobley both signed a five-year, $269 million early contract renewal. Scotty Barnes and Franz Wagner each received a five-year, $224 million contract. Jaylen Sages ($150 million in five years) and Jaylen Green ($105 million in three years) also ensure their future financial security.

This provides a distinct backdrop for the protracted deadlock between Kumingga and the Warriors.

Kuminga naturally treats herself as the same level as those players and expects to receive a comparable salary. He may be able to reach that level one day, but now he faces an untempting choice: a two-year contract that is good for the team, possibly worth $45 million, or a yearly qualification offer that is $7.9 million, hoping to become a full free agent next summer.

This is not a real-world crisis - but it is not a guarantee contract of more than $200 million.

"It's obvious that he thinks he's at the level of Cad Cningham and Scotty Barnes and deserves that level of contract," a league source said of Kumingga, "...it's a real dilemma. I think it's not good for the Warriors and himself."

This refers to Kumingga's possible acceptance of qualification offers, which is an uncommon situation in today's NBA. Kumingga might say he's willing to bet on himself, like he did on Instagram last week, but there are still huge risks on both sides.

For him, the risk is possible injury and value shrinkage. For the Warriors, they may face a tense season and then watch a young player with outstanding skills lose in vain.

It is almost certain that the 22-year-old Kumingga will return to the Warriors in the new season because the team lacks interest in the trading options offered by the Kings and the Suns. As the source said: "I don't think he has any choice because they won't agree to his trade request. There is no suitable sign-on and then exchange plan for the Warriors."

As the farce of Kumingga's restricted free agent enters the second month, the fate of the 2021 rookie seems worth exploring. After commenting on the game for TNT in recent seasons, former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy is now an analyst at Amazon, reviewing the top players in that draft in a phone interview: Cunningham, Green, Mobley, Barnes, Sargers, Josh Gidey, Kumingga and Wagner.

Van Gundy praised Kuminga's athleticism and improved offensive efficiency—but also explains why he still lags behind most of the people on the roster.

"Cad Cningham has proved that he was the best in that class," Van Gundy said. "He has always been the number one person, improving his team, proving himself an All-Star. Kumingga may be able to compete with Barnes, but the difference between them is the ability to create opportunities for others, not just scoring. Barnes is really good at passing and he can help in that."

"In terms of technical characteristics, the closest comparison is possible. It could be Jaylen Green. I understand, if you were Kuminga, you could argue that it was because of the lack of opportunities, but Green has proved himself at a higher level, he is the number one scorer for a 50-win postseason team. Kuminga has always been a role player. Whether it is a matter of opportunity or not, those players are certainly worthy of higher rewards." Given that Kuminga has not played much time, his data over four seasons pales in comparison to his rookie in the same class. He averaged 12.5 points, 4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in his career. By comparison, Cningham (averages 22.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game) and Barnes (averages 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5 assists per game) have much higher output.

If you only look at last season and convert the data to every 36 minutes, the gap will narrow. Kumingga averaged 22.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game; Cunningham averaged 26.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game; Barnes averaged 21.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game.

Apart from the data, Van Gundy wanted to know if Kuminga was helping the team enough in terms of scoring—such as passing and rushing offensive rebounds.

"I would say Wagner is a winning player, as do Cningham and Barnes," Van Gundy said. "I'm not sure about Kumingga. I don't see him having an overall understanding of the game, the ability that will allow him to work with other players and help the team perform well on both ends of the offense and defense."

Kumingga's career trajectory is different from his 2021 peers, partly because he joins a real championship team. The Warriors won the championship in his rookie season and have always prioritized the present over the future as they chased another title with Stephen Curry.

Therefore, Kumingga's playing time has been fluctuating. He got a lot of playing time in December, before his ankle sprain and Jimmy Butler arrived, and played pretty statistics (although the Warriors had a record of 4 wins and 9 losses that month).

When Kumingga returns in mid-March, the Warriors are in full swing. Butler occupied most of the playing time in Cumingga at the same position on the court. Head coach Steve Cole lets Coominga play as a substitute in the last 15 games of the regular season, and he still has considerable opportunities to play during that time, but it needs to work hard to find his place around Curry and Butler.

This is exactly the balance that Cole may need to try in the coming season.

"I think when Jonathan came back we tried to get him into a role-player form, but he really didn't fit that well," Cole told the San Francisco Chronicle during the Western Conference semifinals against the Timberwolves in May. "He's a high-ball player, so it's not great to ask him to play off the ball while Stephen and Jimmy were holding the ball." Nearly three months later, Kumingga found himself in a contract deadlock, just like the Bulls' Giddy - he was selected one pick in the 2021 draft. The market has dried up and there is little money left for restricted free agents.

Kuminga remains an attractive player for the Warriors, thanks to his elegant way of gliding on the court and taking off in a stunning dunk. The lesson here is: this alone will not win him a huge contract.

"He is only 22 years old and has little experience, so can all this improve? Of course," Van Gundy said. "If you want him to play, you have to play around him. To me, he is either the main scorer of a weak team or the substitute of a strong team."