“Everybody’s got their time when God opens their doors… My door isn’t open yet. At some point, it’s going to be open,” Jonathan Kuminga said with a positive expectation over his extension. Meanwhile, at the front office, the Golden State Warriors GM doesn’t seem to have a decision made yet. Importantly, with the Dubs moving away from the dynasty reigns, the side’s future is still cloudy. Amid this situation, GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. made an ambiguous update on Kuminga’s contract extension along with another star.

The 21-year-old has been making calculative moves. Up until the 2022-23 season, the power forward came off the bench and took care of reserve duties, maintaining garbage minutes. However, after Jordan Poole’s exit, Jonathan Kuminga saw the opportunity and made a push to enter the playing mix. The rising star stirred up the locker room when he took a shot at Steve Kerr over minutes allocation in an interview.

Eventually, Jonathan Kuminga received the nod, and made a significant impact, averaging 16.1 points. Next up, he heads into the final year of his rookie contract, with an expectation of seeking a max deal worth $224 million, similar to the one which Scottie Barnes signed. Even though Kuminga had expressed his patient approach, the Dubs have time only till October 31 to sign the deal, or else JK would enter restricted free agency in the next off-season.

Amid this situation, Mike Dunleavy Jr., officially speaking to the media, said, “We’re working through that with them and their representation right now. We got a few more weeks. Good positive conversations without getting into too much detail.”

Mike Dunleavy, by saying “Them,” added Moses Moody into the conversation, who also belonged to Kuminga’s draft class. The GM, however, made one thing clear when he said, “Whether we get something done or not, we want those guys here. Just because you don’t get an extension done doesn’t mean they’re not going to be here for a long time. We’ll still have their rights in free agency.”

So, it’s a ticking time bomb until the Dubs do something. At the same time, a senior reporter suspects a divide between JK and the front office, primarily over the youngster’s financial demands.

Is Jonathan Kuminga on the same page with Mike Dunleavy Jr.?

Looking at Kuminga’s patient approach and GM’s refreshing statement, everything seems like a smooth journey. However, that ain’t the case. While earlier reports revealed JK’s max contract expectation, Anthony Slater dropped a massive update. He revealed that the Dubs “aren’t currently prepared to give Kuminga a max extension or anything that stretches too close to that $44.8 million annual salary.” 

Notably, the Dubs are currently hard capped at first tax apron and look to enter the upcoming season with only 14 players. At the same, the salary cap will increase in the following season, which can allow the team to make the extension. Nevertheless, it’s a point where the team has to decide whether to trust JK or not.

Meanwhile, the Warriors cannot take Jonathan Kuminga lightly. The rising star didn’t hesitate to take a shot at Steve Kerr when it came to managing his minutes. In an interview with The Athletic, he had said, “It’s not up to me to control my minutes… I feel like I’ve done that, but the last voice ain’t mine and it’s not easy.”

So, the hooper is capable of making drastic decisions if things don’t go his way. Do you think the Dubs should trust Jonathan Kuminga and sign a max deal? How do you think this will impact their title ambitions? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.