Jonathan Kuminga may have landed a fresh start with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the free-agent payday he seems to be eyeing could be a lot harder to find than he hopes.
According to NBA insider Jake Fisher on Thursday, the former Warriors forward still believes the Sacramento Kings might come back around next summer with a major offer when he can opt out and hit free agency again. That’s a lot to count on, especially after Sacramento’s handling of his situation over the past year.
The Kings were aggressive in sign-and-trade talks with Golden State last offseason, but they never put themselves in position to keep that momentum alive. After the Warriors turned down their offers and re-signed Kuminga to a two-year, $48.5 million contract with a second-year team option, Sacramento still did not create the kind of salary-cap room that would have allowed them to offer even the non-taxpayer mid-level exception once the Atlanta Hawks declined the team option.
That leaves a pretty clear message for Kuminga and his camp: the Kings have not exactly behaved like a team preparing to hand him a huge deal.
There is still a path for Sacramento to open up money, especially with Zach Lavine’s contract expiring. But recent reporting points them in another direction, and that direction appears to be Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren.
The Kings are said to be all in on Duren as a restricted free agent, with interest strong enough that he could even take the $9.6 million qualifying offer and reach unrestricted free agency next year, when Sacramento would be ready with a max contract. If that’s where the Kings are focusing their energy, it makes Kuminga’s dream scenario look far less likely.
Even if Sacramento somehow had room for both, a max deal for Duren would make it tougher for Kuminga to land the kind of contract he’d want after a strong season in Minnesota.
For now, his situation looks a lot like the one he had with Golden State last offseason: a short-term fit built on opportunity and need. Kuminga needs a bigger role to show what he can do, and Minnesota need a power forward after trading away Julius Randle and Naz Reid.
It’s a useful setup for the former seventh overall pick. It just won’t mean much if he spends the season looking ahead to a Kings offer that may never come.
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