Jonathan Kuminga Trade Clock Ticks for Warriors

Jonathan Kuminga avoided the one-year qualifying offer and signed a two-year, $46.8M deal with Golden State that includes a team option and a 15% trade kicker — but the peace is fragile. As Jake Fischer reports, "The mounting expectation ... is that the Warriors will make Kuminga available in the trade market once he becomes eligible to be dealt on Jan. 15," a move that matters because Kuminga’s $22.5M salary and young upside give Golden State real currency to fix roster holes before the Feb. 5 deadline. Merlin sees a tense courtship turned bargaining table. Golden State and Kuminga’s camp strained after long talks, and prior sign-and-trade chatter with Sacramento shows real market interest. If Kuminga can’t carve a steady role under Steve Kerr, his name will follow trade winds — and the team option makes flipping him easier next summer.