By signing Jonathan Kuminga, the Minnesota Timberwolves filled their last major roster hole: the power forward position. Say what you will about Kuminga, but signing him to a two-year $12.4 million contract is fantastic value.
Since this move, though, a major talking point has been how poorly Kuminga's agent Aaron Turner, botched this situation. For the record, he absolutely did, but the Timberwolves should be thankful for his stupidity, because otherwise they wouldn't have Kuminga or likely any starting-caliber power forward.
Notably, Kuminga turned down a three-year, $75 million offer from the Golden State Warriors last season. Kuminga ultimately signed a two-year, $48.5 million contract with a team option after one year. Last October, Turner defended this process while acknowledging that if Kuminga is making $10 million next year, he would have fumbled the situation. Well, Aaron, we can say that you did fumble the situation, since Kuminga is set to make $6 million this season.
“It was to set all this sh** straight,” Turner said. “And we made a couple million bucks more, so that’s fine too. This is what’s funny to me. Everybody’s like, ‘Aaron f**ked up.’ I’m like, hold on. Did I fumble something? Because fumbling would mean like next year, if JK is making $10 million a year, you could say I fumbled by not taking [three years for $75 million]. You can’t say I fumbled because I didn’t fumble anything yet."
Jonathan Kuminga is a cheap solution to the Timberwolves' PF need
Look, I respect betting on yourself, and the relationship between Kuminga and the Warriors was toxic. Still, when you have a long-term offer like that, you have to take it or at least find a way to get a player, not a team option. I think everyone knew that the Warriors-Kuminga era would soon end with a contract extension like this. By all accounts, Turner messed this one up.
While this context needs to be established, from the Timberwolves' perspective, Turner's mishandling of Kuminga's free agency last summer is an absolute blessing. Of course, the LaMelo Ball trade caused the Timberwolves to gut their power forward room. The move was well worth it, though, as playmaking and secondary creation were pressing needs. Still, without a starting-level power forward, Minnesota's path to a championship would have been more challenging.
And without much cap space or trade assets, the Wolves' path to filling this need felt slim. Had Kuminga not been available, Minnesota would have likely been forced to patch together the PF position, playing natural wings like Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark at the four. They would have had trouble competing on the glass and defending opposing forwards, as a result.
Kuminga's polarizing playstyle, and a lack of cap space across the league essentially gave Minnesota a get out of jail free card. This should never have been the case, though, after the money Kuminga was offered last summer.
Yes, there are still some valid questions about Kuminga's fit and ability to embrace a complementary role. For $6 million, though, that's a worthy gamble. There was no higher upside option available in free agency or via the trade market for the Timberwolves. As noted, the power forward position was Minnesota's only major flaw, and finding a cheap solution to this problem is an absolute luxury.
The Timberwolves have legitimate championship upside, and adding Kuminga boosted their title chances significantly. And none of this would have been possible without Turner botching Kuminga's contract negotiations last summer. So thanks, Mr. Turner; you may have helped the Timberwolves win a championship!
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