One of the biggest questions remaining in NBA free agency was answered Wednesday afternoon, but not with the response many were expecting. Forward Jonathan Kuminga decided to join the Minnesota Timberwolves on a two-year, $12.4 million deal, reports NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN. The second season includes a player option as well, Charania reports.
Kuminga had multiple other suitors, including the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that had been considered a strong contender to land the former Golden State Warrior and Atlanta Hawk. The money would have been comparable for the Lakers, as would the chance to be a starter. Instead, insiders told Charania, Kuminga chose to go with the Timberwolves "don a shorter-term, prove-it deal to give him the ability to have more control of his future and possibly jump back in free agency next summer," detailed ESPN's Anthony Slater.
Kuminga also reportedly had offers from the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers. In Minnesota, though, he joins one of the most exciting new rosters of the upcoming season. Superstar Anthony Edwards is back, as is defensive stalwart Rudy Gobert and forward Jaden McDaniels.
The new addition of point guard LaMelo Ball, though, created a roster that's a real threat to compete for an NBA title this season. Kuminga, who is expected to be the starting power forward, was "persistently recruited" in free agency by the Timberwolves, including their biggest star, sources told Charania. "Edwards was a vocal part of the full-court recruiting press to sign Kuminga," Slater wrote.
"Team president Tim Connelly traveled to Miami for a four-hour in-person meeting with Kuminga earlier this month, and the sixth-year wing also held productive conversations with coach Chris Finch, league sources said." Now, he'll get a chance to replace the traded-away Julius Randle and Naz Reid in Minnesota, providing what is expected to be a better fit for the team, report Jon Krawczynski and Sam Amick. "Kuminga is still just 23 years old, putting him right in line with the young core of Edwards, Ball and Jaden McDaniels, all of whom are 25," they wrote. If that young core jells, expect the Wolves to be a force in the Western Conference.
If not, there could be fireworks.
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