The Warriors have exercised the fourth-year options on Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody’s rookie scale deals, keeping them under contract for next season.
The Warriors waited until the Halloween deadline to make the obvious decisions. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the first two years of rookies’ contracts are guaranteed, while the third and fourth years are team options. In most cases, the contracts are so affordable that the decisions aren’t difficult.
Neither Kuminga nor Moody have blossomed into star players, but each are expected to play a key role on this year’s Warriors squad.
Golden State selected Kuminga with the seventh pick of the 2021 Draft, one selection ahead of Orlando standout Franz Wagner. Since then, the forward from the Democratic Republic of Kongo has averaged 9.7 points per game. He has played 140 games 28 of which he started.
Kuminga’s athleticism give him an extremely high ceiling, but he hasn’t yet earned a major role. He still struggles at times with off-ball defense and decision-making with the ball, both of which could improve with the more consistent playing time he’s expected to enjoy this year.
Through the first four games this season, Kuminga is averaging career-highs in points (11.), rebounds (4.3) and minutes (21.7) per game.
Moody, the 14th pick in the same draft class, is in some ways more equipped to help the current squad than Kuminga. He has a more polished outside shot and has flashed multi positional defensive ability while fitting the mold of a role player who doesn’t need the ball.
Still, no one would mistake Moody’s upside for Kuminga’s.
Kuminga’s club option will be worth roughly $7.6 million in 2024-25. Moody is set to earn approximately $5.8 million.