Insider Confirms Jonathan Kuminga’s Ultimatum to Warriors After Cam Thomas’ Surprise Decision

Cam Thomas’ flirtations with restricted free agency did not have the most desirable of results for the player. After a breakthrough campaign, the 23-year-old chose to reject a $30 million 2-year deal as well as a $9.5 million one-year deal with incentives. However, with no other teams willing to offer better deals, Thomas has now signed a $6 million qualifying offer that gives him a no-trade clause and unrestricted free agency in 2026.

And while Thomas’ situation may have been resolved, it had a range of similarities with what is happening currently between the Golden State Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga. As reported by Clutchpoints’ Brett Seigel, Kuminga and his representation are prepared to walk unless the Warriors meet one specific demand. 

The 22-year-old has rejected Golden State’s two-year, $45 million contract offer. The sticking point isn’t just money… but control. The Warriors are offering a team option in Year 2. Kuminga wants a player option. Without it, he’s ready to accept the one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer and head toward unrestricted free agency in 2026.

Unless Golden State offers Kuminga a long-term deal in the $25 to $30 million per year range, or adjusts its current offer to give him a player option or fully guaranteed money, the negotiations are effectively over. 

League sources say Kuminga is “prepared to end talks” and lock into the qualifying offer, a bold, risky move that takes away the Warriors’ trade leverage and sets up a scenario where they could lose him for nothing. That is the ultimatum that signals JK is all set to follow the same route as Thomas. Kuminga has already shown evidence of wanting to go that way. His Instagram story in July said it all: “I’ll bet on myself all day.” 

The Warriors, meanwhile, have shut down sign-and-trade interest from teams like the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings, both of whom were reportedly willing to offer Kuminga long-term contracts with starting roles and player options attached. Still, Golden State has remained firm. Their offer hasn’t changed, and there’s no indication that it will.

Cam Thomas also rejected multiple offers from the Nets

Thomas became the first major restricted free agent this offseason to accept his qualifying offer. Thomas rejected two different offers from the Nets, a two-year, $30 million deal with a team option for the second season, and a one-year, $9.5 million deal with incentives up to $11 million that would have required him to waive his no-trade clause. His one-year, $6 million qualifying offer comes with a full no-trade clause and lines him up for 2026 unrestricted free agency.

That is because while cap space has been at a minimal in this offseason, a flurry of moves is expected in the next one.  The deal immediately reduces Brooklyn’s cap hold on Thomas, giving them more financial flexibility. But the bigger shock came in what this move signaled to the rest of the league’s restricted free agents still stuck in limbo, including Kuminga, Josh Giddey, and Quentin Grimes. Thomas took control of his future, turned down more guaranteed money, walked away from security, and bet on his talent. Sound familiar?

Kuminga is in a strikingly similar position: a former top-10 pick, a budding offensive weapon, who feels underused and undervalued. And like Thomas, he knows a massive free-agent class is waiting in 2026 with 10 or more teams projected to have max-level cap space.

With Media Day set for September 29, time is running out. The Warriors face a leverage crisis. If Kuminga accepts the qualifying offer, he gains a no-trade clause for 2025-26, stripping the Warriors of trade flexibility. Any team acquiring him would lose his Bird rights, further damaging his value on the open market. Worse, the Warriors would risk losing him outright next summer without getting anything back, after refusing to trade him for years.

Golden State may have assumed Kuminga was bluffing. But Cam Thomas just proved that restricted free agents are ready to gamble for freedom. And unless the Warriors blink, Jonathan Kuminga’s ultimatum might soon become reality.