Oh how Jonathan Kuminga and his camp wish they could turn back time. The young forward and the Golden State Warriors are still yet to find a resolution on his future, having entered the offseason as a restricted free agent.

The longer time goes, the more it appears likely that Kuminga won’t get the sort of deal he had envisioned before entering year five in the league. It only makes October’s pre-extension deadline mistake all the more horrifying, potentially costing the 22-year-old tens of millions of dollars.

Jonathan Kuminga isn’t alone in a tough free agent market

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer in May, Kuminga rejected a five-year, $150 million extension from the Warriors in order to bet on himself to have a huge fourth year and earn more during this current free agency period.

Kuminga will be lucky to get anywhere near that sort of deal now, having continued to experience an up-and-down role under Steve Kerr in his fourth season while also missing a significant period due to an ankle injury.

Once he returned from injury, nothing characterized Kuminga’s career with Golden State more than the fact he started the playoffs out the rotation, then suddenly became the team’s best player in the last four games of the second-round following Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury.

Kuminga averaged nearly 25 points on over 55% shooting in those four games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, yet that doesn’t appear to have raised his value to a point he and his management would like.

It’s far from just a Kuminga issue though, rather the brutal reality that faces many free agents this offseason, and particularly those who are restricted and still bound by their current team.

“If this isn’t the worst market for restricted free agents in the last generation, I don’t want to see it,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Tuesday. “There’s just no money out there. Sign-and-trades are very tough to pull off because the team has the rights and aren’t motivated to play ball.”

While Kuminga awaits a new deal, so too are other notable restricted free agents like Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas. It’s not that teams don’t necessarily want these players, they just can’t afford to pay what they’re asking for in today’s CBA.

It gives their current teams enormous leverage, particularly when a team like the Warriors are also asking for something of significant value in return via sign-and-trade. Still, Kuminga, his camp and the other restricted free agents should have realized that the Brooklyn Nets were going to be the only team with cap space, and should therefore have taken the reasonable deals on offer from their current team when they had the chance.