All summer long, the Minnesota Timberwolves found themselves in the middle of a recruiting battle they always lose.
In need of an answer at power forward after trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the Wolves had their sights set on Jonathan Kuminga, an ultra-athletic player who has both tantalized and frustrated his coaches in five NBA seasons. The mercurial nature of his career to this point meant there wasn’t a feeding frenzy for his services, which at least gave them hope that they could convince him to come to the land of the ice and snow.
There were two main obstacles in their pursuit. First, after acquiring LaMelo Ball from Charlotte, the Wolves had very little money to spend on the free agent market. Second, the Los Angeles Lakers wanted Kuminga as well and were willing to double the best offer Minnesota could make.
For the entirety of their 37 years in the league, those circumstances have always conspired to sink the Wolves. Instead of giving in to history, Anthony Edwards, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and a new ownership tandem of Marc Stad and Alex Rodriguez united to woo Kuminga and address the biggest weakness on their roster.
When they got word on Wednesday evening that Kuminga decided to take a two-year, $12 million deal (including a player option on the second year) from them over a three-year offer worth over $36 million from the Lakers, it was further validation of the progress the organization has made over the past four years.
The Timberwolves couldn’t offer money or long-term security. They couldn’t offer a glamour market or great weather. What they offered, according to team and league sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity so they could discuss the private negotiations, was an opportunity for Kuminga to play big minutes for a Western Conference contender, and repair his value on the free agent market in the process.
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Kuminga is no LeBron James, a superstar the Wolves pushed for with the belief that landing him would instantly vault them into championship contention. But he does bring something to the table that they needed after trading Randle and Reid. His athleticism, 6-foot-7, 225-pound frame and defensive potential make him the most natural power forward on the roster, and he was by far the most attractive option remaining on the market.
Kuminga was the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and spent his first four and a half seasons with the Golden State Warriors. He was meant to be a featured component of the organization’s “two-timeline” approach aimed at sustaining the team’s success as Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson aged.
After an up-and-down tenure with the Warriors that included an NBA championship and also extended time outside of coach Steve Kerr’s rotation, Kuminga was traded, along with Buddy Hield, to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis. That move came less than five months after Kuminga and the Warriors agreed to a two-year deal worth nearly $50 million, including a team option for Year 2, following prolonged contract negotiations during his restricted free agency over the summer.
Kuminga played in just 16 regular-season games for the Hawks, averaging 12.3 points. He reached double figures in five of Atlanta’s six playoff games in April, including a 21-point performance to help give the Hawks a 2-1 first-round series lead over the eventual champion New York Knicks. After that series ended with three straight losses to the Knicks, the Hawks decided to move on.
The Wolves, sources said, feel like Kuminga has untapped defensive potential and a powerful, versatile playing style that could help them match up against some of the more rugged teams in the West, so they went hard after him.
Connelly had extended conversations with Kuminga and agent Aaron Turner throughout the summer, including flying to Miami for a face-to-face meeting, sources said. Rodriguez was a vocal member of the recruiting effort as well as the Wolves looked to convince Kuminga to leave more money on the table.
Edwards called Kuminga throughout the summer, letting him know that the face of the franchise had his back as Kuminga considered other suitors, including the Lakers, Chicago, Portland and Cleveland, before the Cavaliers traded for Peyton Watson. Several other Wolves players reached out to Kuminga as well.
“We wanted to make sure he felt wanted here,” one team source said.
An important piece of the puzzle materialized later in the process. After the Wolves acquired Ball in a big swing during the draft, they pushed their payroll right up to the second apron’s doorstep. That essentially left them with only a veteran minimum salary to offer to any free agent, a $3.6 million number that would have taken them out of consideration for Kuminga. But after Marc Lore agreed to sell controlling interest to the deep-pocketed Stad, the new-look ownership group empowered Connelly to get as aggressive as he needed to be for Kuminga, sources said.
The Wolves will have to make a roster move to free up the additional $3 million and stay under the second apron. To make that happen, sources said the Wolves will likely look to trade veteran Josh Green, who is making $14.6 million. If they cannot make a move, Connelly can waive and stretch Green’s salary, meaning the Wolves would carry $4.9 million of it in each of the next three seasons even without Green on the team.
The Timberwolves hope signing Jonathan Kuminga will solve a lot of problems for them at the 4. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
While Kuminga has his doubters across the league, the Wolves believe his versatility is worth the stretch. Before the signing, they were considering a platoon-type scenario at the 4, using Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark and Trey Lyles, depending on the opponent.
Kuminga gives them a natural lob catcher and transition target for Ball and an isolation scorer who can get a bucket late in the shot clock when the defense keys in on Edwards. His strong rebounding will also address a big weakness.
Kuminga is a career 33 percent 3-point shooter, which brings questions about his ability to space the floor while sharing it with two non-shooting centers in Rudy Gobert and Joan Beringer. He has also pushed for a featured offensive role even when paired with the likes of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, which could be a challenge on a team loaded with offensive talent like Edwards, Ball and Jaden McDaniels.
Kuminga averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Warriors and Hawks in 36 games last season. He is still just 23 years old, putting him right in line with the young core of Edwards, Ball and McDaniels, all of whom are 25.
In many ways, Kuminga is betting on himself. He did not get the big payday he wanted this summer and has yet to show the consistency of a player who was chosen as high as he was in the draft. But he’s had some real moments, including when he averaged 20.8 points in Golden State’s five-game loss to the Timberwolves in the second round of the 2025 Western Conference playoffs.
Now he has a chance to prove himself on a talented team that expects to be playing deep into the playoffs next spring. If he can provide the punch on both ends of the floor that the Wolves need, the money he has long been searching for will likely come.
In the end, the Wolves got a player they see fitting right into their starting lineup for $6 million. It is a low-risk, high-reward move that immediately upgrades the overall talent on the roster. That they did it while offering half as much money and one year less of security than the Lakers only made it that much sweeter.