The Heat‘s interest in Warriors restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga has been overstated, according to Ethan J. Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter links).
[RELATED: Warriors Make Jonathan Kuminga Restricted Free Agent]
Miami has been mentioned multiple times in recent weeks as one of the teams that could make a play for the 22-year-old forward. However, Jackson says there’s no “active pursuit” from the Heat’s end.
Jackson acknowledges in a follow-up tweet that could change in the coming days or weeks, but it doesn’t sound like Kuminga will be a top priority for Miami when free agency opens on Monday evening.
Here are a few more notes and rumors on free agents from around the NBA:
- Veteran guard Gary Payton II appears unlikely to return to the Warriors in free agency, a pair of sources tell Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Bluesky link). If Payton walks, Golden State will likely try to add a quality point-of-attack defender to replace him, Poole adds.
- Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis and Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith are two potential free agents who are generating a “considerable amount of curiosity” around the NBA, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Portis ($13.4MM) and Finney-Smith ($15.4MM) both hold player options for the 2025/26 season, but if they decline them in search of multiyear deals, they would be at the top of the mid-level market for frontcourt players, Fischer writes. In a follow-up Substack story, Fischer suggests the Bucks are well positioned to retain Portis, perhaps on a longer-term deal after he declines that option.
- Re-signing free agent point guard Tre Jones is a viable possibility for the Bulls, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network. As Johnson notes, Billy Donovan and his coaching staff loved what Jones brought to the team in the second half last season, and Chicago’s trade of Lonzo Ball will remove one name from the team’s backcourt depth chart.
- Bobby Marks of ESPN takes an in-depth look at where things stand for all 30 teams entering free agency.