The drama is over! Kuminga signs a 2-year, $48.5 million extension with the Warriors, with the second year as a team option.

On October 1st Beijing time, agent Allen Turner revealed to ESPN that Kuminga has resolved a lengthy summer negotiation standoff and accepted a two-year, $48.5 million contract to rejoin the Golden State Warriors. This deal features a team option designed to give the team flexibility to end the contract and reopen talks next summer.

From July to September, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Turner kept negotiating, and eventually the Warriors increased their total offer by $8 million within a two-year contract framework, providing Kuminga with guaranteed money this season about $15 million above his qualifying offer.

Kuminga chose the two-year, $48.5 million offer over a three-year, $75 million one, aiming to maintain greater control over his near-term career. The Warriors consistently insisted on including a team option in the contract. Both sides now understand that once Kuminga gains trade eligibility in January next year, exploring trade possibilities is likely.

The Warriors selected Kuminga with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, one spot ahead of Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner, who showed All-Star potential before last season’s injury.

Kuminga has not consistently demonstrated the same potential, although his occasional flashes of athleticism and creativity made him one of the draft’s most promising players. Over the past two seasons, he averaged 15.8 points (shooting 50% from the field, 31% from three, and 71% from the free-throw line), 4.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. It’s well known the Warriors have shopped Kuminga in various trade talks, especially after he disappeared from the playoff rotation during the seven-game first-round series against the Houston Rockets.

Recently, the Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings have been considered potential suitors for Kuminga. From Kuminga’s perspective, he wants a stable role that he believes will give him the opportunity to become great.

He told The Athletic, “Things take time, but I feel like I’ve reached a point where I have to make this my top priority — to become someone the team can rely on. The goal is to be an All-Star, not just once. The goal is to be great… no matter where I am, whether with the Warriors or anywhere else, that’s what I want. I want to see what I can do. I know I have the ability. So I really want to see. I’ve never had that chance before.”

For the Warriors, currently featuring Curry and Butler, the situation is tough as both players command many scoring opportunities. Butler plays the same position as Kuminga, and Kuminga’s defensive effort and ball-sharing in the Warriors’ dynamic offense have raised concerns.

However, despite these worries, when Kuminga was thrust into a more prominent role—during the last four games of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves while Curry was sidelined due to injury—he stepped up, averaging 24.3 points in 31 minutes per game, shooting 55% from the field, 39% from three, and 72% from the free-throw line.

It’s this potential that earned him the lucrative contract. How will Kuminga perform in the new season? Let’s wait and see.