The story goes completely with Cole, Curry s 5th championship is also hanging

This offseason, the Golden State Warriors' Kumingga renewal negotiations became the focus. The team has given a three-year contract of $75.2 million, but the 22-year-old Kumingga has not yet given up. Behind this contract is the conflict between him and Cole, which is also a key factor that affects the direction of the Warriors' lineup and affects Curry's quest to win the fifth championship. In fact, no matter what the negotiation result is, the chain reaction is already brewing.

And what Kumingga wants is US$82 million in three years + player options + trade veto. If Kumingga refuses this contract, he will really be about to leave the Warriors and will have a great impact on himself. The first thing to be affected is the further reduction in playing time. After Butler joined last season, he has gradually fallen out of rotation. He only played 3 games against the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, and appeared in just 7 minutes in the tiebreak. In the 2024-2025 season, he averaged only 24.1 minutes of playing time. Once the renewal of the meeting collapses, Cole will never give "disobedient" players more opportunities. For young players who need to be polished by the game, playing without a ball is the biggest professional loss.

The second is that the decline in data leads to a decline in bargaining power in the future. Last season, Kumingga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, and shot 47.2% from the field. This data was obtained in a limited time. If the playing time is compressed to less than 20 minutes, the score may fall below 12 points and there are about 3 rebounds left. Data is a hard currency for players' value. With such performance, it will be difficult to get a better offer in the free market than existing contracts in the future.

Finally, it is becoming increasingly difficult to integrate into the tactical system. The Warriors won by passing and cutting, and Curry's efficient performance of 27.1 points and 6.3 assists per game is inseparable from tactical connection with his teammates. But Kumingga has had many differences with Cole's tactical understanding - for example, in a game last season, Cole set up the bottom corner tactics of pick-and-split balls, but he broke through without authorization, resulting in a mistake. If he doesn't sign a contract, his tactical status will be more marginal and he will eventually fall into a vicious cycle of "no chance → no good fight → no chance".

The Warriors dare to lower the price. The key is that the conflict between Kumingga and Cole has been made public. Cole is unwilling to use him, so he naturally does not recognize his high price. The core of the contradiction is "obedience" and "positioning". Cole needs to maintain the authority of the championship tactical system, and veterans such as Curry and Zhu Meng strictly implement it, but Kumingga has repeatedly "crossed the line". Last season against the Suns, Kerr emphasized that he was defending Booker's breakthrough during the timeout, but he changed his defensive position without authorization, allowing Booker to make a layup easily; when he was criticized after the game, he also refuted "My defense method is more effective." This open confrontation has caused Cole to drop his trust in him sharply - for the coach, players who do not obey commands will not dare to be included in the key rotation no matter how talented they are.

Kuminga's appeal is "value recognition". He is 2.03 meters tall, has an arm span of 2.11 meters, and has a fast break dunk rate of 78%, but he is positioned as a "blue-collar" by Kerr. He is more responsible for positioning and defensive tasks. He rarely has special tactical designs on the offensive end. Last season, he averaged only 2.3 shots per game from tactical cooperation, mostly relying on second offense or fast break points. This dissatisfaction with "talent wasted" gradually evolved into an opposition with the coach.

This contradiction gives the Warriors more confidence in the negotiations: since the players cannot integrate into the system and may also destroy the locker room, there is naturally no need to offer a higher price - anyway, Cole doesn't need him, and his stay or leave has limited impact on the current rotation.

Kuminga's variables also make Curry face three major hidden dangers in winning the championship. Curry is 36 years old, and these two years are the last window period to hit the fifth championship. If Kumingga’s problems are not handled properly, they will directly pose hidden dangers. First, the front line firepower is weakened. Last season, the Warriors' forward line was supported by Butler (averages 21.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists) and Kumingga. Butler needs to rest at the age of 34. Kumingga averaged 18.6 points, 5.2 rebounds in the five games he missed, helping the team win 3 games. If Kumingga leaves the team, the substitute can only rely on Moody (9.4 points per game) and Podjemsky (7.2 points per game), and the impact of both of them is far inferior to him. By then, Butler's pressure will increase dramatically, Curry will have to undertake more offensive tasks, his physical energy will be consumed more, and his playoff status will easily decline.

Secondly, there is less key puzzles on the defensive end. The Warriors ranked 11th in the league in defensive efficiency last season. Although Kumingga is not top-notch in defense, his physical fitness can make up for it - he averaged 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks per game, and he can defend from No. 2 to No. 4. He once restricted Leonard's score of less than 20 points in a single game. If he leaves, the core tasks of the defense line can only rely on Butler and Zhu Meng. Zhu Meng only plays for 28.3 minutes per game (due to age and injury restrictions). After Butler takes into account both the offense, the defensive loopholes will be magnified. In the playoffs, defensive loopholes are often the fuse of losing.

Finally, the locker room atmosphere may deteriorate. Curry and dream pursuit are the team's "solidarity" of the team, but the conflict between Kumingga and Cole has made young players have ideas, and Moody has privately questioned that "the team is vague in positioning young people." If Kumingga leaves the team, other young players may feel that "the team does not value young people"; if he stays in the team but does not work hard, it will directly affect the mentality of teammates. Curry tries his best, but the young players play negatively, and the team's cohesion disperses, and the championship will become empty talk.

The Warriors' current core framework is still "Curry + Dream Chasing + Butler": Curry averages 27.1 points and 6.3 assists per game, which is the core of offense; Chasing Dream Chasing averages 8.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, and is responsible for defense and tactical initiation; Butler is the offensive and defensive hub of the front line. Among the role players, the backs include Hilde (average 12.8 points and 39.1% from three-point shooting percentage), Podjemsky; Moody's on the front line; Davis (average 6.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game), and Post.

The biggest shortcomings of the lineup are obvious: weak inside offense (Davis has limited scoring ability), insufficient forward depth (if Kumingga leaves the team, the strength of the substitute forward will drop sharply). Therefore, potential signings in the offseason revolve around these two points: Horford (averages 10.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists per game last season) can make up for the inside; Payton Jr. (averages 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.6 steals per game, and tough outside defense) can strengthen the defense of the back line; Melton (averages 9.8 points, 37.8% of the three-point shooting percentage) can fill the substitute scoring gap.

But these signings depend on Kumingga's contract renewal: if he signs 75.2 million for three years, the team will have 8 million middle-class special cases available; if he leaves the team, he will have more salary space and can chase players with an annual salary of about 15 million; if he keeps dragging on, the team will not dare to use salary space, and potential signing can only be put on hold.

If the conflict continues, it will not only be Kumingga who will eventually suffer, but Curry's dream of a fifth championship and the Warriors' championship competition pattern that has been maintained for many years. The result of this negotiation will be announced soon, but in any case, the Warriors are already at the crossroads of "protecting the present" or "planning the future".