All summer long, reports have indicated that Al Horford’s time with the Boston Celtics will come to a close. Horford, an unrestricted free agent, has largely been expected to join the Golden State Warriors since July.
Now, in September, he remains unsigned.
Why?
Well, the world is waiting on Warriors restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga to resolve his standoff with the organization. Considering that teams will start training camp later this month, time is running out.
Kuminga has reportedly been unhappy with the offer from the Warriors, but they haven’t had to budge due to the lack of cap space around the NBA. The 22-year-old, along with several other restricted free agents, haven’t had teams reach out with other offers, which would force their previous team to match the offer.
Jonathan Kuminga's dispute should be resolved soon
According to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson, Kuminga is leaning towards taking the one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer, rather than the two-year, $45 million deal Golden State has offered.
“The one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer remains the most attractive offer to Kuminga at the moment, sources continue to tell NBC Sports Bay Area,” Johnson wrote Tuesday. “The Warriors have offered a two-year contract worth roughly $45 million, but are holding strong to a team option for the second year, while Kuminga and his camp have made it clear they want a player option for Year 2.”
The deadline for the former No. 7 overall pick to accept a qualifying offer is Oct. 1. So, again, a verdict should be coming soon.
With the league’s current CBA laying down significant penalties for teams who overspend, front offices have been far more hesitant to cut big checks. Kuminga is a prime example.
His standstill with the Dubs has essentially frozen the remainder of the team’s free agency plans. Golden State still has six open roster spots with the preseason about a month away. Again, Kuminga’s contract dispute seems like a mere formality in Horford’s move to the Bay Area. Once it’s resolved, he’ll almost certainly sign there shortly after.
One thing is for sure: he won’t be back with the Celtics. Brad Stevens said as much back in July.
“We made offers to both Luke [Kornet] and Al,” Stevens told the media earlier this summer, via CLNS. “We would’ve loved to have had both of them back. I would say that’s unlikely. The only reason I haven’t talked about Al is because it’s not final. I could probably talk about Al for my whole press conference and not say enough. But, I don’t want to speak in absolute terms until an ultimate decision is made.”