The Minnesota Timberwolves finally got their starting power forward. On Wednesday night, it was announced that Minnesota was adding Jonathan Kuminga on a two-year, $12.4 million deal.
In that two-year contract, the second season will be a player option. It’s likely that this deal should be viewed as a one-year deal because the signing would have to be an abject failure for Kuminga to pick up his player option.
Due to this, the urgency for the Timberwolves to win a championship will be heightened for this season.
The Timberwolves might be in a familiar power forward predicament next season
Now, if the Timberwolves were to go on a championship run, Kuminga likely wouldn’t be the main catalyst. There’s even a strong possibility that he would be viewed as the fifth-best starter playing alongside LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert.
That isn’t meant to be a slight at Kuminga, though, as those four are all arguably top-50 players—and, in Ant-Man’s case, top 10 or higher.
Turning 24 years old on October 6, Kuminga certainly fits the starting power forward spot better than anyone else on the roster. He provides a much better-fitting lineup than the makeshift one Minnesota would have had by starting someone else out of their natural position.
There aren’t many starting lineups with the ceiling of the Wolves. Still, with this potentially being a one-and-done tenure in Minnesota for Kuminga, there should be more urgency to get it done this year.
With many huge salaries already on the books for 2027–28, it will be difficult to bring Kuminga back on a fair market-value deal without approaching the second apron. Kuminga certainly entered free agency expecting a larger deal than he received.
He will be looking for that next offseason. The only way he would consider picking up his player option is if he unfortunately sustains a major injury—let’s hope not—or if his play is nowhere near expectations and he finds himself benched by Chris Finch without even being in the rotation.
I don’t expect the latter to happen, though. Kuminga should be aware that, on this team, he won’t be needed to score 20 points a night. Helping on the glass, playing solid defense, and consistently scoring in double figures should be the role asked of him.
If Kuminga opts out after this season—as expected—the Timberwolves will likely be in the same boat they were in for much of this offseason. They will be looking for a starting power forward.
Much like this offseason, they won't have a ton of spending power, and it will be difficult (maybe impossible) to find someone as impactful as Kuminga at a fairly low salary.
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