Sources - Warriors tender qualifying offer to Jonathan Kuminga - ESPN

The Golden State Warriors officially tendered Jonathan Kuminga a $7.9 million qualifying offer which will make the forward a restricted free agent as expected, sources confirmed.

Kuminga, the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft, is a major priority for the Warriors entering free agency, which begins on June 30. The Brooklyn Nets are the only team that can offer Kuminga a starting salary of $20 million or more according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. The Warriors have the right to match any offer and can explore sign-and-trade options as well.

Kuminga's future can impact what the Warriors are able to do in free agency and how they can surround Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green with more help. The Warriors need a center, more shooting, defense and playmaking.

Kuminga averaged 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds this past season. He played in 47 regular-season games, missing 31 straight games at one point in the season with a severe ankle injury. The Warriors traded for Butler while Kuminga was out and were a much different team when Kuminga returned to the court. He fell out of Steve Kerr's rotation at the end of the season and in the playoffs until injuries to Butler and Curry in the postseason opened up playing time for him. Kuminga, the Warriors' most athletically explosive player, averaged 24.2 points with Curry out in the final four games of Golden State's second-round loss to Minnesota.

«I think we're in a good spot with it, honestly,» Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. told reporters of Kuminga at his predraft availability last Monday. "… I'd like to figure something out sooner than later. That would be great. But I also acknowledge with restricted free agency these things can drag out a little bit and take some time. I think we