{"id":202280,"date":"2025-10-10T06:24:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T06:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/202280\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T06:24:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T06:24:08","slug":"golden-state-warriors-forward-jonathan-kuminga-at-peace-despite-free-agency-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/202280\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga ‘at peace’ despite free-agency saga"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Golden State Warriors<\/a> forward Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> danced to the Afrobeats song \u201cPetite Genie\u201d as it blared in the training facility at Chase Center on Sunday, about 40 minutes after the team\u2019s preseason opener against the Los Angeles Lakers. <\/p>\n

It was perhaps poetic timing considering the African\u2019s lengthy free-agency journey this NBA offseason. <\/p>\n

Petit g\u00e9nie, translated from French, means \u201clittle genius,\u201d referring to an exceptionally talented and intelligent whiz kid. By the looks of his dance moves, there didn\u2019t appear to be any lingering feelings toward the Warriors after the free-agency saga.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why it took so long to kind of develop to this level because I was never rushed to anything and I was never worried,\u201d Kuminga, a 6-foot-7 power forward, told Andscape after recording five points and four rebounds in 16 minutes in a 111-103 victory over the Lakers. \u201cNothing is not going to be done or any of that. It was just like I say, \u2018It\u2019s business.\u2019 And I always say if you [told] me two years ago you\u2019ll be in a situation to go through a contract negotiation, I would never tell you how it\u2019ll end up being this way. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cNot too many contract [negotiations] get to go this far. It\u2019s very impossible to see that. But as I got to it and learned more about the business, it kind of helped me seeing the business in a different side, but in a good way. I learned so much within [about] how things go. Just be patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Kuminga\u2019s representation were locked in a lengthy stalemate throughout the offseason over the contract\u2019s framework. The restricted free agent ultimately agreed to a two-year, $48.5 million deal to return to the Warriors on Sept. 30 after previously making $24.9 million over four seasons. Kuminga\u2019s new contract includes a team option in the second year designed for the Warriors (or another team if Kuminga is traded) to opt out and create a new deal after the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n

Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga enters key season with Dikembe Mutombo on his mind \u2013 AndscapeRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Kuminga\u2019s stalemate also led to a delay of several Warriors free-agent signings. Last season in primarily a reserve role that he was disappointed about, Kuminga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes per game. While Kuminga is hoping to find a steady role with the Warriors under longtime head coach Steve Kerr, there is still uncertainty. With Kuminga eligible to be traded on Jan. 15, 2026, time will tell whether he finds happiness in a role with the only NBA franchise he has known or elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike we said on media day, that stuff is part of the business,\u201d Warriors star guard Stephen Curry said about Kuminga\u2019s lengthy free agency. \u201cHe showed up [Oct. 2], it was business as usual. Come in, play, give effort, continue to try to get better. I\u2019m not going to overanalyze every minute he is out there. It\u2019s not good for anybody. Just can we win, and can he be a part of it, no matter how he looks? I\u2019m excited for him to get his legs underneath him and keep building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that Kuminga has signed, the elephant in the room regarding his role with the Warriors still looms as the season approaches.<\/p>\n

Kuminga\u2019s role became inconsistent and primarily as a reserve after the Warriors acquired star forward Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline last season. Kerr said he understands Kuminga\u2019s thirst for more, but hopes his focus is on winning regardless of his role. Kuminga said he believes his role is \u201cto rebound, play defense and run the floor,\u201d and he doesn\u2019t \u201cstress myself about it or think about\u201d his uncertain minutes from game to game. Kuminga didn\u2019t start in this season\u2019s first two preseason games, but he did play a prominent reserve role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t ask [Kerr] about roles because I know what he is going to tell me,\u201d Kuminga told Andscape. \u201cI don\u2019t waste my energy. I choose not to ask because nobody is going to tell me. It\u2019s whatever. You just have to find ways to do things when you get out there. Make plays, defend. I don\u2019t have a consistent role. I just play a role where I make sure I play defense and run the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Kuminga\u2019s role, Kerr told Andscape: \u201cIt\u2019s been an interesting fit. He\u2019s made it pretty clear that he wants the ball and an opportunity that a lot of his cohorts get and people that were drafted near him. And we weren\u2019t able to offer that. We were a championship team. We won the title his rookie year [2021-22) and have been in the mix the last few years. So, it\u2019s been tough. I respect the fact that he is competing and fighting in a set of circumstances that maybe isn\u2019t ideal for him. But the thing I keep telling him is he can play a role for us, absolutely, with his size, speed and athleticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can play an important role on a very good team. He just turned 23 [on Monday]. He has plenty of basketball ahead. One day, hopefully, he will look back on this as a valuable time in his career. But I know he\u2019s frustrated. He\u2019s made it very clear publicly. I don\u2019t mind that, but I want him to embrace the idea that he can be a part of something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kuminga kept his free agency in perspective by considering his humble beginnings in his hometown of Goma in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo near the Rwandan border. Basketball shoes and a decent outdoor court to play on were hard to come by during his youth. He was also born just a year before the end of The Second Congo War, which claimed more than 5 million lives. While Kuminga did return home to the Congo this past offseason, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consumer Affairs advised on Aug. 12 in a Level 3 advisory to not visit the country \u201cdue to crime and civil unrest.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Feb. 4, M23 declared a unilateral ceasefire with Congolese security forces in Goma, according to Global Conflict Tracker. The Congolese government estimates that as many as 2,000 were killed in the offensive on Goma by M23, a series of Rwanda-backed militant groups that have been vying for territory and valuable natural resources in the eastern Congo since the late 1990s.<\/p>\n

Kuminga is also an ambassador for Geno-Cost, an initiative from the Congolese Action Youth Platform in recognition of the genocide against the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He attended Geno-Cost Commemoration Day on Aug. 2 in Kinshasa, Congo, to bring awareness to how the Congolese genocide brought economic gain while paying tribute to the millions of victims and survivors and those who helped them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t just sitting there thinking about my contract,\u201d Kuminga said about his trip home. \u201cI was grinding. I was trying to find a way to come back and be better because I\u2019m chasing something bigger and it\u2019s a championship. I want to be the guy that\u2019s really going to be involved in everything this year, usually getting to that level, like a championship level. But when I went back home, I wasn\u2019t really thinking about the contract.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went for a purpose, for a reason. I went to Geno-Cost. We had an event about everything that has gone on in the East of Congo. There was a genocide going on out there. I grew up around those areas. So, it was just good there. I\u2019m an ambassador of the organization that is in charge of helping people out there giving food, water and just safety. So, it was great to be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kuminga added that his \u201cbrothers\u201d \u2014 Warriors veterans Curry, Butler, Draymond Green and Buddy Hield \u2014 supported him during his free-agency process, and that he is committed to playing well on both ends of the court with the Warriors in hopes of winning a championship.<\/p>\n

The following is a Q&A with Kuminga with Andscape in which he talks about his mentality, handling his free agency, the support from his family and aforementioned teammates, what he hopes to do for the Congo, his future in Golden State or elsewhere, and more.<\/p>\n

\"JonathanJonathan Kuminga agreed to a two-year, $48.5 million deal to return to the Golden State Warriors.<\/p>\n

Noah Graham\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Did you feel at peace after your lengthy free-agency situation was concluded?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always at peace. I\u2019m a peaceful guy, man. The key is the environment that I grew up in, the environment that I put myself in. There is not a bad life or a better way to live life [than] being in peace. No matter the circumstance, you\u2019ve always got to work towards that peace. You\u2019ve got to find what it is that makes you peaceful. [For me, that\u2019s] my environment, my people, my two beautiful daughters, my family, my parents. I grew up in a family that doesn\u2019t have drama. I never saw my parents get into it. So, besides being around that environment, I\u2019ve just got to be in peace every time.<\/p>\n

What aided you the most during the negotiations?<\/p>\n

The one thing I really appreciate is my teammates. I never heard one of them call me and tell me, \u2018Yo, hurry up and do this.\u2019 So, just knowing that people like that who I go to work with every other day on that floor have my back, I appreciate that. I think that was the biggest thing I learned: I got people that support me and are always behind me. I\u2019m glad and I\u2019m happy to always call them my teammates, my brothers.<\/p>\n

Who was the main person you leaned on through all this?<\/p>\n

I spoke to Buddy. I spoke to Draymond. I spoke to Jimmy. I spoke to Steph. All of them. I had a 20-plus type of conversations of how contracts work, how to feel about certain things. They were teaching me certain things.<\/p>\n

We had a [players] team camp out there in San Diego. I did not go. That\u2019s when I had to speak to Jimmy and tell him how things were going and that I can\u2019t get there. He\u2019s one of the guys that really understands where I was coming from because he\u2019s been through contract situations. And me and Steph had a long, long talk and I really appreciate that. Me and Draymond, obviously we always talk, but we had a long talk after he was coming back from China. They just gave me hope and patience for sure. I felt like I was comfortable after talking to them. You\u2019ve always got to hear from certain outlets and they\u2019re the ones that I really needed to hear from.<\/p>\n

\"GoldenLast season in primarily a reserve role, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.3 minutes per game. <\/p>\n

AP Photo\/Godofredo A. V\u00e1squez<\/p>\n

When you signed your new contract, what were your emotions?<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t have no emotion. I think my family did, and I mainly just felt joy, and happy, and blessed, and thanks to God that it happened. I wasn\u2019t stressed. I was just wanting to get it done. But having the heaviness of getting things done doesn\u2019t make me stressed. I was just taking my time to see where these things were going to go. I\u2019m glad we got it figured out.<\/p>\n

How do you view your situation with the Warriors going forward?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always happy. I\u2019m working towards being an \u2018X-factor.\u2019 Being that guy on both ends when it comes to defense, when it comes to the old offense. So, I just have to find a way to help so we could win a championship.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing about the unknown of your future here or elsewhere that makes you nervous?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think about things like that. I let the day just tell us what\u2019s going to happen. But when it comes to future stuff and things like that, no. I don\u2019t worry about things like that. I just try to get better. You never know with this life. It\u2019s the NBA. One day you\u2019re going to be here. One day you\u2019re going to be somewhere else.<\/p>\n

The biggest thing about it is just to work and just get better every day and be a winner. No matter where I\u2019ll be, no matter if I\u2019m going to be here or they might ship me somewhere else. I just want to get to wherever I\u2019ll get, or be here and just be involved and win and impact right away. That is my biggest concern. I\u2019m at that point now where I\u2019ve got a couple years in now. So, I know what\u2019s right and what is not right.<\/p>\n

How good can you still be?<\/p>\n

I have too much confidence. And my confidence don\u2019t just come from [inside] because I work towards it and I see how better I get every other year. The sky is the limit. I can\u2019t predict it, but I believe in God and I trust my work and I know I have a long way to go. And one day I\u2019ll look back and like I say, \u2018Wow, I came a long way.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"JonathanJonathan Kuminga (right) is an ambassador for Geno-Cost, an initiative from the Congolese Action Youth Platform in recognition of the genocide against the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n

EyeG<\/p>\n

As a Christian, were there any scriptures or teachings you leaned on?<\/p>\n

I come from a Christian family. My mom is still a pastor. As I\u2019m speaking right now, today is Sunday. I\u2019ve got to call her. She\u2019s probably coming back from church. She has a church in Tampa, Florida. They live in Orlando. So, she drives over there with my dad every day. I believe in God. And if I find time, I go to church. I pray every other day. I talked to my family and they just help me go through anything.<\/p>\n

Coming where you come from, considering your story with all the challenges, have you even taken a second to reflect on what you have accomplished coming Africa?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what people don\u2019t see. They just look at the person. I am Jonathan Kuminga, that\u2019s all. All they see is a tunnel of vision. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t worry. That\u2019s why I\u2019m very peaceful from where I come from. Looking back, it\u2019s a long way to mess up or any of that. When I look back, I\u2019m always proud of myself no matter what. No matter if I step back or step forward, I\u2019m always proud of myself because I came from a long way. When I look back from the places where I came from, there are not many people that will tell you they got to this level. Hopefully, we are going to have more. I came a long way.<\/p>\n

How can you describe a long way?<\/p>\n

I went from nothing to something. I\u2019m a child from a small area in Congo. So, it\u2019s not too many people that have a chance of making it. A lot of people are hard workers, but we just don\u2019t have too many opportunities. As I keep growing, I want to be involved in giving people chances because I know what it takes and I know where I come from.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m doing it. Now I\u2019m more established. I\u2019m much more in peace. I could do a lot of things and I\u2019m working on it. But one day I\u2019ll find people and take them where I come from, and just put the history out there, and put something out there for people to really understand where I come from and what it is like making it when you\u2019re from out there.<\/p>\n

\"Jonathan Jonathan Kuminga attends Geno-Cost Commemoration Day on Aug. 2 in Kinshasa, Congo.<\/p>\n

EyeG<\/p>\n

What do you want to do from a charity standpoint in Congo?<\/p>\n

I have a foundation and we are working on it. I\u2019m trying to figure it out. Building courts, building schools. It\u2019s bigger than a lot of things. I feel like I\u2019m trying to sit down and focus on it more and find a way. It is not something that\u2019s just going to come overnight. So, it\u2019s something that we\u2019ve got to sit down and really figure it out.<\/p>\n

Are you motivated to help from the late NBA great and philanthropist Dikembe Mutombo, who is from the Congo? <\/p>\n

He started it. He just helped so many people. We\u2019ve just got to follow in his footsteps.<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn\u2019t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga danced to the Afrobeats song \u201cPetite Genie\u201d as it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-202280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}