Signing With The T Wolves Could Hurt Jonathan Kuminga's Future
Jonathan Kuminga has had a unique NBA career to this point. The Minnesota Timberwolves are hoping a new home allows him to unlock his true potential. But there are some reasons to think the move might not work out.
Video Transcript
The Jonathan Kuminga sweepstakes are finally over after a free agency period that dragged well into the NBA off-season for the second straight year.
Kuminga came to terms on a two-year, twelve and a half million dollar deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but I'm not sure it was the best decision for him in the short term or the long term.
Of course, he had more lucrative options on the table that he chose to forgo to bet on himself, those being the Lakers, the Trail Blazers, the Bulls, and a few others were in the mix.
Cleveland, I think, was in there as well.
But again, the whole LeBron free agency derailed the Kuminga process, overshadowed that a little bit, and then by the time Kuminga chose to wait and not come to terms while that was going on, all of a sudden he's signing for a lot less than expected, but it might be in a larger role than expected.
The Wolves promised that Kuminga would start in their starting five at the three or the four spot alongside newcomer LaMelo Ball, Ant Edwards, Rudy Gobert, part of that core five.
But in terms of his play style, I'm not really seeing a fit here.
A lot of Kuminga's best games came in Atlanta after his stint in Golden State.
Of course, in Golden State, he played alongside Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, all ball dominant and ball-heavy players who command the offense a lot.
Versus in Atlanta, he got-- still got to play mid-level minutes, but the scoring was up, and the production was up, and the efficiency was up because they let him have freedom and have creativity within the system.
So again, it allowed him to dictate his own pace, have a fresh start.
That was part of it, of course.
There were a lot of rumors, a lot of news.
He didn't love being in Golden State for a multitude of reasons, but Atlanta was a much better fit for him, and then all of a sudden the deal's up.
You have to find a new landing spot.
Was Minnesota really the best place?
Again, if you're gonna take less money to have a starting spot, you better make sure that starting spot is gonna be worth your while.
But starting alongside Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, two of, you know, the best offensive players in the game today, that again command a lot of the ball and a lot of the team's offense, alongside Rudy Gobert, which commands a lot of the team's second-chance looks.
A lot of those passes from LaMelo and Edwards are gonna go to Rudy over a player maybe like Kuminga, who wants a lot of those looks.
So I'm not sure how much Kuminga will have in terms of production levels on the ball.
Of course, the minutes will be up 'cause he'll be starting, but was it really the right fit for him?
You take a look at some of the other options there.
The Trail Blazers, of course, their guard class is super stacked from a three or a four standpoint.
Maybe coming off the bench, he would've done a lot better there.
I think even in LA, you have Luka, you have Austin Reaves still, but off the bench you need scoring and Kuminga could have provided that for the Lakers.
Versus Minnesota, you already have a Dante DiVincenzo off the bench.
Taking a look at their bench players now, Josh Green, Bones Hyland, Terrence Shannon, all players that are offensive heavy and not defensive heavy.
Kuminga's defense is good because he's a very athletic player.
From an offensive standpoint, that's his bread and butter.
That's what he relies on.
He uses his athleticism to create offensive looks, but if the touches aren't there, the production might not be there.
And from a long-term standpoint, I'm not sure how good this is for his future in the NBA.
