Jonathan Kuminga Is Burning Bridges With Teammates Before Warriors Season Start

The Jonathan Kuminga contract negotiations couldn’t be going more poorly. All offseason long, Kuminga and his camp have been rejecting the Warriors’ offers, and the Warriors are refusing to give Kuminga what he wants. This doesn’t just affect Kuminga and the Warriors' front office. The rest of the Warriors' roster and the fans are suffering because the team isn’t able to make any moves before signing Kuminga.

Now, a recent Warriors news update revealed that Kuminga may be burning bridges with his teammates before the season even starts. 

ESPN’s Shams Charania gave a Kuminga update on Wednesday, saying, "Jimmy Butler is actually holding a team function, a team mini-camp in San Diego this week. One player that is not there...Jonathan Kuminga. My understanding is that he is not appearing at this team function. It's still at a stalemate.”

Butler’s mini-camp is a great opportunity for the Warriors roster to gel and start training camp off on the right foot. If Kuminga is signed to play on the Warriors next season, whether with the qualifying offer or a longer-term contract, this is something that he needs to be a part of. 

Not only is it potentially detrimental for the Warriors to not have a significant player on their roster on the same page as the rest of the team, but it’s a bad look for Kuminga. 

You have the opportunity to train with three future Hall of Famers. Build chemistry with your teammates. Instead, you are letting your contract negotiations, which should just be between your agent and the front office, bleed into your training and the start of your season. 

The Warriors need to get the Kuminga contract situation resolved ASAP. Every day that they have uncertainty with their roster is another day that other teams are building chemistry and getting better.