Former Warrior Jonathan Kuminga enters free agency as Hawks decline option

Jonathan Kuminga will be looking for a new team after the Atlanta Hawks declined to pick up his $24 million deal on Monday afternoon.

Kuminga played half of last season in Atlanta after the Golden State Warriors traded the forward and Buddy Hield to the Eastern Conference team in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis' expiring contract.

In 16 games for Atlanta, Kuminga averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds but only made one start. While he had his bright spots with the Hawks - such as 19- and 20-point games against the New York Knicks in the playoffs - Kuminga also struggled with chronic knee injuries.

The 24-year-old is now an unrestricted free agent for the first time in a career that began with him being the No. 7 overall pick by the Warriors in the 2021 draft.

Though Kuminga was a member of the 2022 title team and ended up averaging 12.5 points per game in the Bay Area, he never established himself as someone coach Steve Kerr could trust long-term.

While Kuminga wanted to show he could be an All-Star-caliber scorer and creator on the wing, the coaching staff wanted him to rebound, defend and score more opportunistically.

Kuminga started only 97 of 278 games played for the Warriors and appeared set to leave as an unrestricted free agent last summer. The Warriors went the entire offseason without making a single signing as the protracted and often acrimonious negotiations took place.

He ended up returning on a two-year deal and was out of the rotation by December. While struggling with injuries following a brief return to the lineup, the Warriors finally closed the chapter on the Kuminga era at the trade deadline.

With a Warriors reunion extremely improbable, Kuminga will test the open market when free agency begins on Tuesday.

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