The Curious Case of Jonathan Kuminga Landing with the Timberwolves

Minnesota reportedly has interest in the 23-year-old dynamic free-agent forward. What would it take to bring him in, and how would he fit?

Analyzing whether or not Jonathan Kuminga is a good fit for the Timberwolves. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After the Timberwolves traded Julius Randle and Naz Reid—their only rotation-level power forwards—for LaMelo Ball, every available player standing 6’7” or taller has been a potential target.

Minnesota needs to fill one more roster spot before the season begins. It also needs more size to patch its hole at power forward and provide some insurance to defend the rim and grab rebounds. However, the pool of available, quality forward depth is shallow. One of the biggest names left on the market is Jonathan Kuminga, an unrestricted free agent who is reportedly seeking a large contract.

HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported Friday morning that the Timberwolves are interested in Kuminga. However, bringing in the former first-round pick would be a slippery financial slope riddled with unknowns.

How could the Wolves even afford Kuminga?

Scotto reported that the Timberwolves could offer Kuminga the full $6.06 million taxpayer mid-level exception, but that isn’t true because Minnesota is hard-capped to stay below the second apron and only has roughly $3.9 million in cap space below that threshold.

If the Wolves were to sign Kuminga straight-up right now, they could only offer him a near-veteran’s minimum deal. And it is unclear whether Kuminga would be willing to accept that type of contract.

When Kuminga turned down his $24.3 million player option with Atlanta for the 2026-27 season, he entered unrestricted free agency reportedly searching for a longer-term deal in the $15-25 million range.

Jonathan Kuminga is reportedly searching for a long-term contract. Should the Timberwolves offer him one despite the risk? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Along with Minnesota, the Lakers, Clippers, Cavaliers and Bucks are reported to have interest in Kuminga, who is coming off a season in which he averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds on 46.3% from the floor (9.4 attempts) and 33.3% from deep (2.9 attempts) in 23.1 minutes over 36 games with the Warriors and Hawks.

If Kuminga ends up pulling his desired salary from any team, it would likely come by way of a sign-and-trade.

The Timberwolves are $8.6 million over the first apron right now, per Spotrac, which they would need to get below before they could execute a sign-and-trade that results in them receiving a player. That type of transaction would also hard-cap the Wolves at the first apron.

Options are there

One path for Minnesota to acquire Kuminga is to dump Donte DiVincenzo’s $12.5 million expiring contract. That would put the Wolves below the first apron, giving them the opportunity to send out Josh Green’s $14.7 million expiring contract in a sign-and-trade with Atlanta. However, I am not sure why the Hawks—already equipped with a slew of defensive-oriented wings—would be interested in swapping Green for Kuminga.

In any trade involving Green, the Wolves can’t attach another player to the deal until Thursday, Sept. 10. They also can’t receive more money than they send out in any trade because they are hard-capped at the second apron. That means Kuminga would need to sign a contract worth $14.7 million or less for 2026-27. That deal would also have to be at least three years long, with the first season fully guaranteed, because of sign-and-trade rules.

Another path for the Wolves is to dump Green’s contract on another team. Doing so would give Minnesota the same $14.7 million to sign Kuminga, avoid a sign-and-trade, and keep DiVincenzo on the roster. The challenge with this option is finding a team with cap space (the Bulls, Grizzlies, or Nets) willing to use an existing trade exception to bring in Green on a one-year rental.

I would imagine it would be much easier for the Wolves to find a team that would take on DiVincenzo’s contract, even though he will be out for most of the year with an Achilles injury. However, the Wolves see DiVincenzo as a long-term fit and do not want to trade him right now. But perhaps the prospect of adding a dynamic 23-year-old forward would change their minds.

The positives of adding Jonathan Kuminga could outweigh the sacrifices and effort the Timberwolves must make. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Minnesota could also waive and stretch Green’s contract, which would remove him from the roster while stretching his $14.7 million evenly over the next three seasons with an annual cap hit of roughly $4.9 million. That would free up nearly $10 million in cap space this season, put the Wolves under the first apron, and give them the ability to sign Kuminga to a deal closer to what he is reportedly searching for.

But all of those pathways assume he is still pursuing that type of contract with teams willing to offer it to him. If one or neither of those assumptions is true anymore—over a month after Kuminga opted out of his player option—then perhaps Kuminga would be willing to take the veteran’s minimum offer that the Wolves could give him.

The Wolves could also dump another lower-level salary, such as Terrence Shannon Jr., who will be making $2.8 million this season. Doing that would allow Minnesota to give Kuminga slightly more money (roughly $4.4 million) while keeping enough cap space under the second apron to sign one more player to a vet minimum and fill its mandatory 14th roster spot.

But even in that option, the Wolves would have to part with a young player who has already proven effective in their system. Any path the Wolves take, aside from signing Kuminga on the minimum, would likely indicate they are confident he can fit alongside Ball and Anthony Edwards, patching the power-forward hole both this season and into the future.

How would Kuminga fit in Minnesota?

Statistically, Kuminga is certainly the best remaining unrestricted free agent on the market. He is still just 23 years old and has proven to be a prolific scorer at an NBA level. Two years ago, in the second round of the playoffs against the Timberwolves, Kuminga averaged 20.8 points on 54.3% from the floor (14 attempts) and 42.1% from deep (3.8 attempts) in 27.4 minutes over five games.

In that series, Kuminga stepped into a much more primary scoring role than he has had for most of his time with his team in the NBA because Steph Curry was out. The shots and opportunities were there for Kuminga to score like an All-Star with a slew of shot attempts.

But that isn’t the type of role the Wolves, even though they could offer Kuminga a spot in their starting lineup, likely need from him. Between Edwards, Ball, McDaniels and even Ayo Dosunmu, the Timberwolves have plenty of on-ball scoring outlets. What they need at power forward—both this season and over the long term—is a player willing and able to thrive in a complementary role, focusing on the little things necessary to win.

The Wolves would need Kuminga to stay in a complementary role.

Even more than his isolation scoring abilities, head coach Chris Finch would benefit from Kuminga’s versatile defense and productive rebounding abilities. The Wolves would need Kuminga to be okay in that type of role, focusing more on fill-in duties that could boost their championship odds. And for that to happen, there needs to be a level of buy-in and commitment from Kuminga.

Jonathan Kuminga would be a good fit for the Timberwolves... if he's willing to accept a certain role. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Personally, I would be concerned that Kuminga staying in a similar—if not slightly smaller—offensive role in Minnesota than he has had for most of his NBA career would discourage his overall commitment, especially if the Wolves would have to go through the hoops required to acquire him via a sign-and-trade. I would also have concerns about Kuminga’s lack of floor spacing alongside Edwards and Rudy Gobert.

However, Ball is the type of pure point guard that makes everyone around him better and plays well alongside rim-running, athletic lob-catching threats. In signing with the Wolves, Kuminga would likely know where he sits in Minnesota's offensive totem pole. He would also know the great chance that he has to win a championship and blossom around a young core. If Kuminga is willing to do what it takes to commit to that goal, regardless of how many shots he averages, Minnesota’s potential over the long-term would be greatly exciting.

Exciting enough for the front office to pay him the type of money he wants and make the sacrifices necessary to do so? Exciting enough for Kuminga to potentially take a smaller-sized deal for a similarly sized offensive role?

Time will tell.