The Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga were involved in a contested contract standoff during this past offseason that ended with him agreeing to a two-year contract worth $48.5 million. There still is an option for Kuminga to be traded this season, though, before the two sides can renegotiate the deal next offseason.

Kuminga's gotten off to a strong start to the 2025–26 season on Golden State, but he is still a prime trade candidate for the team. But, if the Warriors do decide to trade Kuminga away before the offseason, they won't be able to do so until at least January 15.

Typically, free agents like Kuminga from the summer are eligible to be traded on December 15. However, since Kuminga re-signed with the Warriors after being an unrestricted free agent, the two sides would have to wait to trade him until January 15 as that's when the restriction deadline for players who re-signed with a team is lifted.

Not all players who re-sign with their teams in the offseason have to follow this Jan. 15 date. The Warriors must follow the date with Kuminga because his deal was worth at least 20% more than his previous deal (four years for $24.8 million) and the Warriors are over their salary cap. These two factors qualify Kuminga as being one of the players who must wait to be traded until Jan. 15 if both sides desire to make a move by then, per Spotrac. These guidelines are put in place so teams don't re-sign a player and trade them right away.

If the Warriors do decide to trade Kuminga, he will be worth $22.5 million for them to save against the cap. The team also waived his one-year Bird restriction, which he earned by playing on the team for three consecutive seasons. The Warriors were able to re-sign Kuminga because of the Bird restriction. However, since Kuminga's Bird restriction has now been waived, Golden State could trade him without his approval.

We'll see whether the Warriors decide to trade Kuminga when January rolls around. Through the first four games of the season, Kuminga's averaging 18 points, eight rebounds (the team-high) and four assists per game.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Simple Reason Why the Warriors Can't Trade Jonathan Kuminga Until January.