August is the point in the calendar when there is no pressure on either side — the player or the team — to compromise when it comes to restricted free agents. Everyone can dig their heels in on their current offers — or rejections of said offers — because until we get closer to training camps opening at the end of September there is no pressure to get a deal done. The hard deadline to sign these extensions is Oct. 1.
That’s why four restricted free agents still hang out there: The Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga, the Bulls’ Josh Giddey, the Nets’ Cam Thomas, and the 76ers’ Quentin Grimes. This week there were updates that are not really much of an update on Kuminga and Giddey, let’s break it down.
Jonathan Kuminga
There have been “renewed” talks between Kuminga and the Warriors, ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported on NBA Today. However, he said the offer from the Warriors has not changed: Two years, $45 million, with a team option in the second year and the Warriors are demanding Kuminga waive the no-trade clause that automatically comes with that contract. Kuminga, understandably, is not willing to give up his only real leverage in the situation with the no-trade clause, and he continues to point to the $7.8 million qualifying offer, which is not ideal for either side but would make Kuminga an unrestricted free agent next offseason. From Slater on ESPN:
“The word I’ve heard used from the Kuminga side is ‘pawn.’ He doesn’t want to sign this two-year, $45 million deal with a team option where he is clearly just being used to be traded mid-season. That’s not something he wants to sign up for. Now if you’re talking about a three-year deal, if you’re talking about something with a player option that shows him a little bit more commitment, that’s something he’d be interested in. But as of now, the Warriors have been hesitant to do that, and because of that, Kuminga is signaling to those around him that he’s very willing – and prefers – the qualifying offer.”
Cooler heads likely will prevail, likely with one of three options: A third year (likely with a player or team option on that final season), a two-year contract with a player option on that second season, or a two-year deal with a team option but a hefty guarantee on that second season (say $15 million). However, of all the restricted free agents remaining, Kuminga — long frustrated with how Steve Kerr has used him in Golden State — is the most likely to sign the qualifying offer and just play out the season, looking to leave.
Josh Giddey
The update on Giddey is that there is not much of an update. The Bulls still have an offer at around $20 million a season for Giddey on the table, veteran Bulls insider K.C. Johnson reported on CHSN.
Another insider, Jake Fischer of the Stein Line, reported recently that the Bulls’ full offer is around four years, $80 million. Giddey still wants to be paid closer to $30 million a season, the range of Derrick White, Tyler Herro and Jalen Suggs.
Giddey can point to his numbers in Chicago last season after the All-Star break: 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists a game for a Bulls team that went 17-10 in that stretch. The challenge is that Giddey is not a great defender, and while he was an efficient scorer during that post-All-Star run last season, he is not historically a good 3-point shooter nor a great finisher around the rim. Around the league he is perceived as an 82-game player, not a 16-game player (he can help a team in the regular season, but our last playoff memory of Giddey is him getting played off the floor for Oklahoma City). Giddey will need to change that perception to get the money he seeks.
Eventually, the sides will find a compromise and Giddey will put up stats this season as the fulcrum of the Bulls’ offense — he is a good player (and one who is going to help a lot of fantasy teams this season).
