The Jonathan Kuminga free agency saga finally came to an end this week when he signed a two-year, $13 million deal to join the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kuminga reportedly turned down a three-year offer from the Lakers starting at $12 million annually to join Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball in Minneapolis.
Both teams were in search of a starting power forward. Kuminga will now start next to Edwards, Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, a fascinating lineup with real strengths, but clear flaws. However, Kuminga’s decision to spurn L.A. for Minnesota had nothing to do with money or opportunity, but more about the strengths of the team he chose, according to his agent, Aaron Turner, in an interview with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic:
“Ant was super active in the recruitment of him,” Turner told The Athletic. “One thing he did was focus his message on, we’re gonna really guard here. Everybody looked at the offensive end. JK and I looked more at the defensive end.”
Kuminga landed on Minnesota after a conversation with Turner about what was most important:
“We sat at the gym this week, and I asked him, what’s the best basketball situation?” Turner said. “He said Minnesota. Well, nothing else matters. Why would you go anywhere else?”
Contrary to what many people believed about Kuminga and his free agency, he specifically prioritized one side of the floor over the other:
“He made this decision because of the defensive versatility of this team,” Turner said. “Offense is secondary to what he’s thinking about. It’s going to be whatever we gotta do to win that night. Nobody is going to care about stats or shots.”
The Timberwolves should be a strong defensive team behind McDaniels — one of the best perimeter defenders in the league — and Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Edwards is also a very good defender for a superstar, given that he does not typically have the task of guarding the other team’s best player. Ayo Dosunmu is also a strong defensive presence at guard off the bench.
What does remain to be seen, though, is if the Timberwolves are a better overall basketball team than the Lakers. The Timberwolves got swept by the Lakers last season, finished four games back and got eliminated in the same round of the playoffs. However, they replaced Julius Randle and Naz Reid with Ball and Kuminga, a massive risk.
The Lakers will now have to pivot to whatever is next, while Kuminga will be focused on building up his defensive acumen in Minnesota.
Lakers potentially in mix for Bruce Brown
Part of the Lakers’ pivot might be to add another free agent, even though they are already at 16 rostered players and have some big decisions to make there. If they do add, though, one reason they might would be to land Bruce Brown, a player they have coveted for many years and can still provide a strong defensive presence on the perimeter.
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