The Minnesota Timberwolves brought Jonathan Kuminga on board via a two-year, $12.4 million contract. With the signing, he is reportedly going to slot in as the team’s starting power forward. But the Wolves shouldn’t have promised Kuminga the starting power forward spot. Because if there comes a point at which Kuminga shouldn’t be starting anymore, that could be an awkward situation.
During his time with the Golden State Warriors, Kuminga wanted to start. He believed that he should be a regular starter on the Warriors, and that was part of the reason why the relationship between him and the team deteriorated the way it did. Now, the Wolves have already told him he can start. But if the fit isn’t ideal, then they may want to remove Kuminga from the first five.
By starting Kuminga as a starter and telling him that he will have the role, it would place the Wolves in a tough spot if they wanted to remove him from the starting lineup.
Promising Jonathan Kuminga a starting spot could come back to bite the Timberwolves
Minnesota is going to walk into next season with a starting lineup of LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Kuminga, and Rudy Gobert. That seems like the most obvious first five.
The Timberwolves brought in Ball to be Edwards’ co-star, and now it’s up to them to surround those two guys with the best possible role players. And Kuminga may not be that guy.
Throughout the course of his young career, Kuminga has believed he deserves more touches and more responsibility than he’s gotten. And in Minnesota, he’s going to have to settle into a role-player role.
Unfortunately, up to this point in his NBA life, he hasn’t done a great job at doing that. So, if he struggles with that again on the Wolves, things could get dicey with him in the starting lineup.
But since they have begun Kuminga’s Wolves tenure by telling him that he will be a starter, things could get weird if they eventually decide that he’s better coming off the bench – which is a real possibility.
What if, in a couple of months’ time, Chris Finch has to make the decision to move Kuminga to the bench? How will he take that? He hasn’t liked being a bench player up to this point.
And since the Wolves already told him he’s going to start, it may make him even more upset. Minnesota could be setting itself up for a very tough situation.
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