{"id":149143,"date":"2025-08-16T00:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T00:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/149143\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T00:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T00:16:11","slug":"warriors-mailbag-jonathan-kumingasteve-kerr-al-horford-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/149143\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors mailbag: Jonathan Kuminga,Steve Kerr, Al Horford, and more!"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few days ago, I put out a call for a mailbag. And I got some very good questions about the Golden State Warriors! So let\u2019s jump into them.<\/p>\n

\n

King4307<\/strong>:
How much blame should Steve Kerr carry for the current state of the warriors?<\/p>\n

1. Not reprimanding Draymond harsh enough for punching Poole when Poole looked to clearly be the successor to klay. (You can say what you want about how he played after the punch and in Washington but it\u2019s clear his play took a turn after the punch).<\/p>\n

2. Making Klay feel alienated enough to leave by benching him for Podz.<\/p>\n

3. Not being fluid enough to adapt the offense to try and fit jk in and benching him when it was pretty clear he was the second best offensive player on the team. It\u2019s quite possible they are going to lose JK for nothing next year.<\/p>\n

Since the chip in 22 it seems like Kerr is losing touch with the locker room. The dray punch seemed to draw a divide between the vets and young guys and it\u2019s never recovered.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Certainly a coach deserves a large amount of blame for the shortcomings of both a roster design, and the performance on the court, and Steve Kerr is no exception. But, as is usually the case, I think the criticisms of Kerr are outpacing reality here.<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s incontrovertible that Kerr played a role in Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson both becoming unhappy. I\u2019m also not sure it was possible to avoid Poole\u2019s unhappiness without making Draymond Green \u2014 a better and more important player \u2014 unhappy, and I\u2019m not sure it was possible to avoid Thompson\u2019s unhappiness without giving him even more leash and more playing time, which would have hurt the team (it\u2019s also a case of hindsight analysis: if you recall at the time, the vast majority of Warriors fans were angry at Kerr for not benching Klay sooner).<\/p>\n

The other reality is that you basically will never find an contending team where both the veterans and young players feel heard, respected, and played enough. Kerr has been the leader behind something truly unprecedented in the modern NBA: a 10-year stretch where three Hall of Fame-bound talents were all happy and comfortable. Is it a knock on Kerr that Jonathan Kuminga is unhappy and doesn\u2019t have a role? Yes. But is it in large part because of Kerr that Jimmy Butler III, seen as a problematic locker room personality who would clash with Green and Steph Curry, has fit in seamlessly? Yes, and the latter is more important than the former.<\/p>\n

So yeah, Kerr deserves some blame for Poole and Thompson (and eventually Kuminga) unhappily leaving town (though those don\u2019t look like big losses at the moment). But he\u2019s entering Year 12 with a top-10 all-time player who has publicly said he has no intention of ever playing for another coach, and Year 12 with one of the most emotionally turbulent players in NBA history who sings Kerr\u2019s praises at every turn and still wants to be with the organization. Those are a million times more important than hurting Thompson\u2019s feelings by benching him towards the end of his career when he was playing horribly.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, those critiques against Kerr are fair, but they\u2019re kind of like critiquing Curry\u2019s missed free throws.<\/p>\n

\n

420_blackbirds:<\/strong>
Is it just me, or does there seem to be a lot more noise about JK than any of the other unsigned RFAs? What\u2019s the deal?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s primarily because Kuminga would like to play for someone other than the team that has his rights, which isn\u2019t the case for Josh Giddey, Cam Thomas, or Quentin Grimes. Those three are trying to find the right amount of money, while Kuminga is trying to find the right situation and role, and is open to leaving money on the table<\/a> if it helps him find it.<\/p>\n

\n

dinohealth:<\/strong>
No secret, I totally dislike the way our GM broke up our last \u2018Ship team, broke up the Splash Brothers\/also gave up WIGS\/LOONS, and ran STEPH to the ground, losing the finest perimeter shooting\/gravity\/spacing that changed the game. He beats proven \u2018Ship HOF players down, and runs to his CHICAGO connections to bail out his under-evaluation of what made DUBS BALL A DYNASTIC WINNER. WEST must be furious in LOGO HEAVEN.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Well, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a particularly accurate representation of events. They gave that championship team another year together and it was clear things needed to change. They didn\u2019t break up the Splash Brothers \u2014 they tried to re-sign Klay Thompson, who decided he wanted to play elsewhere. They gave up Andrew Wiggins because it allowed them to get a significantly better player, and they gave up Kevon Looney because they had a bitter fit lined up to sign. Steph Curry has emphatically not been run into the ground \u2026 he\u2019s still healthy (he\u2019s played 144 games the last two regular seasons!), and last year was the second-spryest 37-year old in NBA history (nor is Curry\u2019s playing time determined by the GM).<\/p>\n

Jerry West was one of the most cutthroat executives in NBA history, cut from the Bill Walsh mold. If there was someone who loved severing sentimental ties to improve the quality of a roster, it was West. He would have been chomping at the bit to move on from Thompson and would have done summersaults at swapping Wiggins for Jimmy Butler III.<\/p>\n

Anyway, in \u201cLogo Heaven\u201d I presume all ills have been forgiven, and West is back to rooting for his beloved Lakers.<\/p>\n

\n

scizzorhands:<\/strong>
Which $15-$25M players is the team willing to trade JK for in a 1-1 swap with limited draft picks attached either way? Assuming that players like Zubac ($19M) are not obtainable.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I think Occam\u2019s Razor is telling me that the answer to this question is \u201cnone.\u201d We\u2019re more than six weeks into free agency and there hasn\u2019t even been a hint of a rumor of an intriguing player being available for Kuminga, while the team appears to have fully moved on from the idea of it happening.<\/p>\n

So I would say that every player that fits into the \u201cwilling to trade JK for\u201d bucket is also occupying a spot in the \u201cnot obtainable\u201d bucket.<\/p>\n

\n

Plopplop:<\/strong>
Is it me or does it not seem that Warriors have leverage and the upper hand in the negotiations with Kuminga\u2019s clan?<\/p>\n

It seems that FO has thought of it all : QO can be interesting, signing him at their conditions (and I feel they are particularly rigid in negotiations because of JK\u2019s agent personality and lack of lucidity, as he showed already last year and now that the market has spoken), while it seems that verbal agreements with DM and AH have been concluded (although maybe personal parts of coming to play in SF can be annoying, as being able to definitely moving your family, and stuff)<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s true, last year 30m+ offer has been turned down by Kuminga\u2019s agent because he was too greedy. Now, they leak rumors stating that JK is ready to take the QO which is silly from a financial standpoint (both losing money that they will never get back on next contract, bird rights), although they can value freedom a lot (which don\u2019t seem the case historically, comparing to money). And even if he takes it, we get a bench guy for the cheap, for 4 months or in a very important full year<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At the risk of sounding like a politician, I don\u2019t think either side has much leverage here. The Dubs have leverage in the sense that they have the right of refusal, and thus control Kuminga\u2019s future to a certain extent \u2014 there is no method for JK to spend the upcoming season on another team unless the Warriors decide it\u2019s in their best interest. But Kuminga has leverage in that he seems willing to leave money on the table to ultimately get what he wants, even if it doesn\u2019t come right away.<\/p>\n

Ultimately I lean towards the Warriors having a touch more leverage, just because it\u2019s pretty clear that Kuminga doesn\u2019t have the market he expected he\u2019d have \u2026 and not only is that impacting his current offseason, but it plays a role in determining his next one, too, as well as his midseason trade value.<\/p>\n

\n

EastBayHoops:<\/strong>
Do the Warriors have any interest in Cam Thomas?<\/p>\n

And, why is there this implicit assumption that Horford and Melton are locks for our roster? Both are injury risks – how many people are you going to load manage?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m sure the Warriors have a ton of interest in Cam Thomas in a vacuum. In reality, there\u2019s no way they can actually get him on their team. He\u2019s going to get a massive contract, and the Dubs have no feasible way of fitting that onto their roster, or giving Brooklyn anything making it worth their while to do a trade.<\/p>\n

As for Al Horford and De\u2019Anthony Melton, the reason there\u2019s an assumption that both are locks for the roster is because it\u2019s been reported by virtually everyone that both players are planning on signing with the Warriors as soon as the Jonathan Kuminga situation is resolved. The fact that they haven\u2019t signed elsewhere, or even been seriously linked elsewhere, certainly supports that.<\/p>\n

Certainly there will be injury concerns, though the Dubs have the depth to help with that (and it\u2019s worth noting that Horford has played at least 60 games in 10 of the last 11 seasons). But ultimately, the current CBA is set to make it virtually impossible for quality teams to add proven young talent. The Warriors have two options for filling out their roster: talented players with health concerns, and healthy players with talent concerns. The former is, understandably, preferable.<\/p>\n

\n

420_blackbirds:<\/strong>
Assuming Kuminga, Horford, & Melton are #s 10-12 on the roster, how do you see the Warriors filling the last 2 slots?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At that point, the Warriors will be limited to minimum contracts, so don\u2019t expect any big names. I don\u2019t believe they\u2019ve finalized the contracts with their trio of 2025 draftees \u2014 Alex Toohey, Will Richard, and Jahmai Mashack \u2014 so one or two of them could end up on actual contracts rather than two-way deals. Given that there\u2019s been no rumors or reports involving him, I\u2019d imagine Gary Payton II is also waiting to see how things finalize and could potentially return to the Dubs.<\/p>\n

\n

Hamster Ball:<\/strong>
Any chance Warriors sign Ben Simmons? He has not been signed by any other team and is an unrestricted FA. Would he fit in with Kerr\u2019s system?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ben Simmons would definitely be an interesting fit in Steve Kerr\u2019s system, and I believe there have been reports about the team\u2019s interest. I doubt they go after him unless Al Horford opts for retirement over a season in San Francisco. Without Horford, there\u2019s more space for Simmons, and I imagine the team isn\u2019t incredibly stoked on putting his enigmatic personality on a roster that already has Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III.<\/p>\n

\n

KapIsMyHomeboy:<\/strong>
If the Warriors are hoping he will sign the QO, couldn\u2019t they just release him?<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s very obvious they aren\u2019t going to sign him to a three year deal. If they were willing to do that, they already would have done it.<\/p>\n

They are planning on getting him at a discount, and if he makes the SLIGHTEST fuss, they will suspend him as the Heat did last year with Butler.<\/p>\n

The difference is they won\u2019t be able to trade him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Technically it wouldn\u2019t be releasing him, as he\u2019s not under contract. But yes, they could technically remove the qualifying offer and let him enter unrestricted free agency. But why in the world would they do that? They\u2019ve offered him a two-year, $45 million contract \u2026 if he wants to counter with a one-year, $7.9 million deal, I\u2019m guessing they\u2019d be pretty damn happy!<\/p>\n

\n

KapIsMyHomeboy:<\/strong>
What is the Warrior\u2019s front office doing today to resolve the Jonathan Kuminga issue?<\/p>\n

Will Horford and Melton sit around and wait until Oct 1st, as the Warriors seem to be intent on doing?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s not really anything the Warriors can be doing to resolve the Jonathan Kuminga issue. They\u2019ve made their best offer. All they can do is wait for him to make a decision. What could they do? Their only method for expediting matters is to cave and offer a contract they don\u2019t think he deserves, and that\u2019s hardly resolving the issue in a productive manner.<\/p>\n

As for Al Horford and De\u2019Anthony Melton \u2026 they\u2019ve already waited six weeks, what\u2019s six weeks more? It\u2019s not like those two are waiting to see if the Warriors are interested. Presumably they have handshake deals and just need the Kuminga situation to be resolved before the Ts can be crossed on the contract. I can\u2019t imagine Horford and Melton are in any hurry \u2026 the checks don\u2019t cash until the season, anyway.<\/p>\n

Thanks for the questions, everyone!<\/p>\n

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