Jonathan Kuminga remains the most notable unrestricted free agent yet to sign. Two teams have been heavily rumored to want his services of late: the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
During a livestream with Bleacher Report on Tuesday, Jake Fischer updated fans on Kuminga's market, noting that it's between the Wolves and Lakers.
“For Kuminga, I still think his situation comes down to Minnesota or Los Angeles,” Fischer said. “Kuminga has seemed to prefer going to the Lakers. They have the most opportunity to negotiate there...The Lakers have been selling him on this vision of having him start next to Luka. They’re going to have the spending power, in theory, to reward him next year. That’s going to come to some type of conclusion soon.”
While Fischer notes that the Lakers are Kuminga's preferred landing spot, the Timberwolves still clearly have a chance to sign him, which is promising given their need for a power forward.
Without a sign-and-trade, Kuminga won’t come close to receiving the salary he was hoping for when entering free agency. At this point, he may make his decision based on which team could give him the best opportunity to earn more money the next time he enters free agency.
The Timberwolves and Lakers are vying for Jonathan Kuminga
Both teams seem to have a starting power forward role earmarked for Kuminga. The Lakers’ current projected starter at the four is Jake LaRavia. It’s unknown who would start at power forward for Minnesota.
The issue is that both teams can only offer Kuminga a veteran’s minimum contract. That’s a far cry from the $24.3 million team option the Atlanta Hawks declined on Kuminga for the upcoming season.
Playing alongside Luka Doncic—as well as Austin Reaves—is probably appealing to Kuminga. The 23-year-old, of course, spent his first 4.5 seasons with a superstar in Stephen Curry.
LaMelo Ball may not be quite as appealing, but with Anthony Edwards also in the lineup, that’s quite a dynamic backcourt that is capable of allowing Kuminga more open looks on offense.
Barring a sign-and-trade, it looks as if the 6-foot-7 forward will sign a short-term, prove-it-type deal. Knowing that, Kuminga is likely already thinking about 2027 free agency and earning substantially more than that one-year deal will provide him.
It will also be hard for the Timberwolves to pay Kuminga what he wants next offseason, particularly if Rudy Gobert remains. Gobert has a $38 million player option, while Edwards, Ball, Jaden McDaniels, and Ayo Dosunmu are under contract for 2027–28 for a combined $144.7 million.
Hopefully, Timberwolves fans won’t have to wait much longer to find out whether they have their starting power forward in Kuminga.
If he instead goes to the Lakers or a surprise team, then Minnesota may have to go with a nontraditional four to start at power forward as the free agency market is drying up.
Add us as a preferred source on Google