“I’m told the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings are two teams that have made concrete offers with the Warriors over the last week or so,” ESPN’s Shams Charania recently reported. With the presence of such “concrete offers”, it is inevitable that Jonathan Kuminga might soon exit the Golden State Warriors. It could potentially be a welcome relief, since the team and the restricted free agent have reportedly remained unaligned on a potential deal to keep him with Golden State. As new reports reveal, Kuminga had another team on the radar, but his agent’s efforts could not bear any fruit.

NBA insider Jake Fischer dropped some intriguing breadcrumbs on a recent episode of Bleacher Report’s Insider Notebook. While trade rumors continue to swirl, Fischer shed light on one of the bigger talking points around Jonathan Kuminga: the money. There was buzz about Kuminga turning down a $30 million average annual value offer in early bird extension talks with Golden State last fall. But his agent, Aaron Turner, fired back on Twitter, firmly denying those claims—insisting they never rejected such a number. That figure, however, still seems to be the target range Kuminga’s camp is eyeing.

And while the Warriors continue weighing offers, it turns out Kuminga’s camp had its ideas. According to Fischer, Turner was actively exploring a potential sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls. The idea was to package Kuminga and Josh Giddey into a deal that worked financially for both sides. But despite initial outreach, that plan never gained traction—and talks fizzled before they could turn serious.

“If Josh Giddey was willing to take a certain number that Jonathan Kuminga’s side was trying to manufacture as a complicated sign-and-trade that would have gotten both those players paid, I think that deal could have gotten done. But Giddey’s in his own situation,” Jake Fischer reported on Insider Notebook.

Chicago was expected to offer Giddey a $30 million-per-year extension, but that hasn’t materialized—likely due to the Bulls’ hesitation to commit that much. Meanwhile, Golden State has shown similar restraint with Kuminga, offering closer to $60–80 million over three or four years, per reports. The forward’s camp, however, is holding firm on a minimum $90 million guarantee. That fundamental gap in valuation—both in annual salary and contract length—has become the biggest roadblock to a deal, forcing all talks, including the proposed Giddey-Kuminga sign-and-trade, to grind to a halt.

“To my understanding, though that deal hasn’t really made any progress, didn’t make much progress as much as Chicago has had interest in Jonathan Kuminga, dating back to, you know, past trade conversations with Golden State and the Bulls talking about Zack Lavine and Nicola Vucevic” said Fischer.

“But to my latest understanding, I don’t think there is any further development between the Bulls and Kuminga on a sign and trade. I think it’s pretty quiet for Kuminga altogether. If anything, to my latest knowledge, it seems like Kuminga and Golden State are going to be finding more likely than not a short-term agreement for him to go back to the Warriors. I do think that no matter what the final contract details are, years, average annual salary, whatever, I think it’s going to be important for both sides, that his deal remains trade eligible for next season”.

The ‘Giddey Situation’, as reported by ‘news.com.au’ was a reference to how the Bulls’ front office is holding out on giving the Australian star a mega payday. After all, the team is already set to hold a cap allocation of $183.022 million for the 2025-26 season. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has reportedly been “notoriously stingy” about avoiding paying the luxury tax. The Bulls can come to the table with a deal of around four years, $90 million, but even that will be considered significantly lower than what Giddey’s camp is asking for.

“The two sides met at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where Giddey and his camp made it clear they want a contract similar to that of Jalen Suggs (5-year, $150 million) and Immanuel Quickley (5-year, $162 million) and have not come down from their $30 million annual average value asking price” NBA insider Brett Siegel wrote in a recent report.

With no clarity on a deal with Giddey, the Warriors’ willingness to get a sign-and-trade done with the Bulls remains stalled. In light of this, Jonathan Kuminga might have to start exploring other options, especially from those who have already made “concrete offers” to him.

Will Jonathan Kuminga sign with the Phoenix Suns?

According to reports, Agent Aaron Turner has moved on from the failed negotiations with the Chicago Bulls and spent the month of July searching for sign-and-trade opportunities with the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. Both teams have shown interest and continue to remain in communication with the Warriors.

Sure, Jonathan Kuminga is looking for a better pay structure. Who isn’t out there in the world? However, he also wants a more guaranteed, consistent starting role. After Jimmy Butler’s acquisition by the Warriors, it became clear that Kuminga wasn’t going to be used as much as before. Especially after Steve Kerr said, during an episode of ‘95.7 The Game’ back in April 2025, that “I have to read what we need. I have to read who’s playing well together, and to be very frank, the Jimmy (Butler), JK (Kuminga) combination has not been great and that’s the tricky part here”.

Fortunately, the Suns have reportedly pitched Kuminga an expanded role. With Jordan Goodwin and Jared Butler as backup guards, and Devin Booker leading the pack, along with Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, Kuminga could prove to be an additional asset that helps place the Suns at the top. Unfortunately, one important detail might prevent a sign-and-trade. As Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reported, “[The Suns] are unlikely to land him because they lack the draft capital and assets to deliver in what would be a sign-and-trade for the Warriors”. The new CBA guidelines have screwed things up for teams, haven’t they?

Well, all potential paths seem to be blocked for the 22-year-old Congolese player. In light of this, it will only be more interesting to see what the future holds for him next.