Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy and Golden State’s power brass has had plenty of time to prepare for this week’s NBA Draft along with determining a plan for restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, rumored this month to be a potential trade piece for the franchise this summer.
Golden State’s only pick this cycle is No. 41 overall in the second round, but the Warriors have worked their draft board tirelessly in case something happens on draft night.
“We do the whole thing, just from a process standpoint, to be able to look back, to see how we’re evaluating players,” Dunleavy said Monday. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve drafted almost at every level. We’ve drafted 2, we’ve drafted 7, we’ve drafted 19, we’ve drafted multiple picks in the second round, last pick of the first round, that type of stuff.
“You’ve got to be ready for anything, and I think it’s just a good exercise to go through for us to have a whole complete board. You never know; draft night something happens, you trade up. So we’ve got to be ready for everything.”
The Warriors didn’t have a first-round pick in last year’s cycle either after selecting Quinten Post out of Boston College at No. 52 overall. He played in 42 games this season, including 14 starts and averaged 8.1 points and 3.5 rebonds.
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Warriors deciding on Kuminga
Kuminga’s most impressive spurt this season came in the playoffs following the injury to Stephen Curry in Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves when he averaged 25 points per game in the following four games.
Golden State has rights to match any offer sheet Kuminga receives from another team and must figure out that monetary threshold very soon given the Warriors’ salary cap limits after adding Jimmy Butler from the Heat at the trade deadline.
Curry, Butler and Draymond Green will earn nearly $172 million next season, leaving Golden State strapped in free agency depending on Kuminga’s requests, especially if there’s a franchise looking for frontcourt talent with more cash to spend.
“We can start pursuing that right now, leading up into free agency, and I think we’re in a good spot with it, honestly. We had the ability to bring him back. He’s restricted,” Dunleavy said. “I think there will be good dialogue. I’d like to figure something out sooner than later. That would be great. But I also acknowledge with restricted free agency these things can drag out a little bit and take some time.
“I think we feel pretty comfortable with who JK is as a player and what he can do for our organization, and we’ll continue — it’s a main priority going into free agency.”
Determining Kuminga’s role for the 2025-26 season is equally important for a franchise that will welcome back Curry, Butler, Green and Buddy Hield, among others.
“I think it’s important to have those discussions,” Dunleavy said. “Anytime, whether it’s your own guy you’re bringing back or signing a new player, I talk with the players, sometimes Steve [Kerr] does. Sometimes he connects with our players on our roster, too. You have all these conversations.
“In JK’s position being an incumbent player, it’s a little bit more known, but yeah, I think some of those conversations will need to happen, especially the way the season kind of unfolded last year where there were some moments where he wasn’t playing as much and then the role is bigger, then he was injured, all this up and down. Sure, that’s something that will probably be necessary to clarify.”
Kuming was a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and has played all four seasons with the Warriors. His career-best 16.1 points per game came during the 2023-24 campaign when he started 46 games and saw his most minutes.
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