WARRIORSTALK

Get to Know Jonathan Kuminga

At seventh overall, Jonathan Kuminga was Golden State’s first lottery pick in the NBA draft. For years, Kuminga has been lauded for his size, speed and otherworldly-potential, but his journey to bring those skills to fruition hasn’t been the easiest.

Kuminga was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and played basketball ever since he could remember. He was born with basketball in his blood, as is his whole family—his parents hooped, his cousin, Emmanuel Mudiay, plays for the Utah Jazz, his other cousin, Omari Gudul, currently plays professionally in Romania, and his older brother played at Texas Tech. Even though he was born to play basketball, hooping competitively in Africa certainly wasn’t as convenient as it is in the states.

FeatureBen StrawnAugust 5, 2021jonathan kuminga, kuminga, golden state warriors, warriorsComment

Exploring and Explaining Kelly Oubre Jr. Sign-and-Trade Scenarios

Trade exceptions.

You might have heard of them from NBA 2k or from a Shams Charania tweet, but it isn’t totally obvious what they are. However, if you follow a team like the Warriors – which seem to always be in the middle of trade rumors – understanding what a traded player exception is could potentially be extremely relevant, and exciting.

Now, the same could be in play for Kelly Oubre Jr., with the topic brought up in the Warriors Off-Season 2021 Primer, posted by u/perksofthesewalls in r/warriors.

Wes Goldberg from the Mercury News reported Bob Myers wants Oubre back, and despite his benching, Oubre has a good relationship with the Warriors’ organization. So, if Oubre ends up wanting to leave via a sign-and-trade, Golden State still does not want to lose him for nothing – and they could leverage their good standing with the wing to get the traded player exception in return.

Will the Warriors Use Their Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception?

With Golden State’s most recent signings, they’ve been able to fill out their roster with some much-needed help: Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. join the team on minimum salaries, bringing very good shooting, solid defense, and rebounding – if they can remain healthy. The Warriors still have one trick left in the bag in their taxpayer midlevel exception, allowing them to sign another player to a $5.9 million contract to pick up some insurance.

The problem arises, as The Athletic’s Warriors writer Anthony Slater pointed out on the radio this week, in how much the Dubs will actually have to spend if they sign another free agent using the TPMLE:

Three Free Agents That the Warriors Should Sign Using the TMLE

After an eventful start to the NBA free agency, it’s time for the Warriors to make some moves. Myers has $5.9 million through the taxpayer mid-level exception and he needs to use it. Don’t let it go to waste, you have no excuse to do so.

The Warriors need some more veteran leadership through these positions: a play-making guard and a frontcourt depth piece that can stretch the floor. With players like Patty Mills and Nicolas Batum gone, it’s starting to look like slim-pickings but I still see a few available players that would be good fits in the Bay Area.

Stephen Curry agrees to four-year, $215M extension with Warriors

The news broke on Tuesday morning that Golden State Superstar Stephen Curry has agreed to a four-year, $215M contract extension with the Warriors. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweeted the scoop to his nearly five million Twitter followers.

The historic deal makes Curry the first ever player to ink two separate $200M-plus contracts as Woj noted.

Nemanja Bjelica will sign a one-year deal with Golden State on a minimum

Nemanja Bjelica has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors early Tuesday morning according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The 33 year old Serbian power forward played for the Sacramento Kings before he was traded to the Miami Heat at the trade deadline in March. He only played 11 games for Miami with averages of 5ppg on 37 percent shooting from behind the arc in that small samples size.

FeatureJoseph AziziAugust 3, 2021nemanja bjelica, golden state warriors, warriors, free agency, free agentComment