Can Jonathan Kuminga accept a complementary role with the Minnesota Timberwolves? That's the question on everyone's mind regarding Kuminga's fit with the Timberwolves. Given his rocky four-and-a-half-year stint with the Golden State Warriors, which included frequent clashes with Steve Kerr, this is a fair question. Ultimately, the proof will be in the pudding, but Kuminga is saying all the right things early on.
During his introductory press conference with the Timberwolves, Kuminga spoke about how important Minnesota's winning culture was to his decision and how willing he is to buy into the defensive side of the floor. Likewise, he openly discussed why this winning culture was worth taking less money for. Notably, by signing a two-year, $12.4 million deal, he bypassed more lucrative offers, including from the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I wanted to go to a winning culture. And this was the best winning culture I could've chosen out of the options," Kuminga said regarding sacrificing money en route to signing with Minnesota.
"My game, my mentality, pretty much everything fits well with this group. It doesn't matter what it is; they could put me wherever, run the floor, screen, defend, play fast, whatever it is. I can come in and be one of the best defenders," Kuminga said when explaining why he's a good fit with the Timberwolves.
"He (Finch) wants me to come here and be myself, rebound, defend at the highest level… Focusing on those two (things), just rebound and defend, I think that’ll help the team, and that will help me," Kuminga said when asked about his conversations with Chris Finch.
These quotes are undoubtedly promising signs for Kuminga's fit with the team. His comments show that he is focusing on winning and playing whatever role the team needs him to.
The Timberwolves need Kuminga to embrace a complementary role
Even before signing Kuminga, the Timberwolves had plenty of offensive talent. While adding a skilled athlete and finisher certainly helps, the main part of Kuminga's impact will be seen on the defensive side of the ball.
The Timberwolves primarily need Kuminga to defend opposing forwards and crash the glass. This was the primary downside to not having a natural power forward. Kuminga has proven to be a quality one-on-one defender and a high-level rebounder, especially last season. Ranking in the 94th percentile for defensive rebounding percentage per Databallr and the 85th percentile for matchup difficulty per Basketball Index serve as evidence of this.
Kuminga, mainly focusing on how he can impact the game on defense, will help ensure that his fit with the team is smooth. Shortly after signing with the Timberwolves, Kuminga's agent, Aaron Turner, noted that offense was secondary to Kuminga's decision to join Minnesota. Kuminga taking less money to play for the Timberwolves indicates that he's bought into sacrificing for the betterment of the team.
As such, there's a good amount of evidence to suggest that Kuminga is ready to embrace a complementary role.
Now, to be clear, he'll still have an important role in the offense, but it will be more of a play-finisher and connective-piece role. The Timberwolves have too much established talent to feed him touches as a shot creator, but they could use an athletic forward who can finish around the rim, cut off the ball, set screens, and run in transition. Based on Kuminga's comments, it sounds like he's ready to do all of these "little things."
Kuminga buying into a complementary role with the Timberwolves and focusing on impacting winning gives them exactly what they need to win a title.
Thankfully, the early evidence indicates that Kuminga is focused on the right things.
Add us as a preferred source on Google