Jonathan Kuminga’s new deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves has a way of making Sacramento’s old trade chatter look even louder in hindsight.
The 23-year-old forward agreed to a two-year, $12.4 million contract on Wednesday night, and the structure tells the story. There’s a player option built in, and while reports said Kuminga was aiming for $20-25 million annually, he settled for a prove-it contract with a clear path to try again next offseason.
That’s where the Kings come in. Sacramento had interest in Kuminga last offseason, when he was frustrated with the Golden State Warriors and asked for a trade after being left out of Steve Kerr’s rotation at different points during the season. He believed he could do more elsewhere, and the Kings were among the teams in the mix.
According to the reporting, Sacramento put forward a rotation player and a protected first-round pick. Golden State wanted the pick unprotected, and the possibility of sending a young player to a division rival also played into the Warriors’ thinking.
Kuminga’s situation with Golden State had already gone through plenty of drama before this latest move. He and the Warriors eventually settled their extension dispute last September, when he signed a two-year, $48.5 million contract. Later, during last season’s trade deadline, they sent the 6-foot-7 forward to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal for Kristaps Porzingis.
That move did not end the story for long. The second year of the contract came with a team option, Atlanta declined it, and Kuminga hit free agency.
Even then, the money never really lined up the way he wanted. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the Los Angeles Lakers offered $12 million over three seasons, and no team was willing to meet the salary Kuminga was seeking. Still, Sacramento’s situation made a trade last offseason look like the one window the Kings may have had to land him at a price they could live with.
On Thursday, Carmichael Dave, host of "The Carmichael Dave Show," said the missed chance stood out even more because of how cheap Kuminga’s new arrangement is.
"It certainly seems like they were super hot and bothered about him last year, and we're talking about 20 to 25 million per year and trying to do that," Dave said on Thursday's episode. "Now you just had an opportunity to get him at a, you know, great value discount, Gobots rate, and nothing."
But the Kings did not pass on the player who just signed for $6.2 million annually. They simply were not in a spot to give him what he wanted. General manager Scott Perry said the team could only offer the veteran's minimum this offseason, and Sacramento took steps to trim payroll by waiving DeMar DeRozan and trading Devin Carter.
The bigger picture is pretty straightforward: Kuminga wanted a chance to rebuild his value and prove he could help a winning team in a starting role. Sacramento, coming off a 22-60 season, was not in position to offer that kind of runway and is focused on developing rookie Darius Acuff Jr.
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