In case you've been living under a rock, the Minnesota Timberwolves signed Jonathan Kuminga! Their summer-long power forward void has been solved, and the speculation on whether the Wolves would start Ayo Dosunmu at the three and move Jaden McDaniels to the four can be put to rest.
Kuminga is going to start, per Shams Charania. I think this will benefit both Kuminga and Dosunmu. It gives Kuminga a chance to refine his game to fit a role, and it gives Dosunmu a chance to lead the bench unit, something he should excel at.
Dosunmu is a high-end sixth man, and with the addition of Kuminga, he could be primed for an award-winning season.
Dosunmu should be a Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner
Following in the footsteps of Naz Reid in 2024, Dosunmu could have a good chance of being the second Wolves player to win the award. Dosunmu is more than talented enough to start on most teams in the league, but he's just behind a star-studded backcourt (similar to Reid's situation when he won it).
I mean, you don't drop 43 points in a playoff game by accident. Dosunmu will absolutely be a key figure on this team, and he should be the first one up to get a starting spot if one of the guards, or even forwards, misses time.
Last season, divided between the Chicago Bulls and the Wolves, Dosunmu put up a career high of 14.8 points on 51.7/43.9/87.6 splits, truly absurd efficiency. Furthermore, if we're just counting his time on the Wolves last season, he was a part of the infamous 50/40/90 club.
Now playing behind not only Anthony Edwards but also LaMelo Ball, and now Kuminga in the fold, his scoring may see a slight decrease from last season. But if he can replicate that same ridiculous efficiency that he displayed with the Wolves on a team that should have more regular-season success this season, he should be firmly in the 6MOY race.
The Wolves' bench will be fairly unproven and will require a lot of guys to be ready for bigger roles than they've been accustomed to having, so having Dosunmu as not only the leading scorer but also a stabilizing presence will only make life easier for the rest of the reserves.
He'll probably be competing with the likes of Collin Gillespie, Dylan Harper, and Collin Sexton, to name a few other candidates, but if the Wolves see better regular-season success. Regardless, it wouldn't surprise me to see Dosunmu atop that list.
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