The thing about locking yourself into a long term deal is that it really cuts off a lot of earning potential. $25M a year ain’t that much more than MLE 4 years down the line. The sheer amount of money makes it so that I would never blame a player for taking it, but if they truly believe in themselves I can understand why betting on themselves can be seen as the more favorable option. In the past it seemed like almost every RFA benefited from waiting besides a few exceptions, but we’re in a second apron world now.
With JK, I probably would have been more on the conservative because the Warriors wouldn’t give him the role he thinks he deserves. But even then, I still think there’s an argument to be made that waiting it out is better. A shorter deal with Jalen’s Green structure would have been great for Kuminga, but the Warriors would never catch themselves giving such a player favored deal to him.
JK’s camp is really high on him (maybe a little too high), but they’ve been validated. The instant he got more opportunity he blossomed last season. Really, they should have worked on getting him traded if they weren’t going to ink a deal. Being in a 12 man rotation is horrible for betting on yourself.
