Jonathan Kuminga’s introductory comments in Minnesota sparked plenty of noise, but the Hawks angle isn’t nearly as direct as it first sounded.
Kuminga, who spent last season with both the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks, officially landed with the Timberwolves on a two-year deal after a summer-long saga finally wrapped up two weeks ago. When he spoke Thursday at his first press conference with Minnesota, the conversation quickly drifted back to why he chose that landing spot over the rest of the field.
For Kuminga, the answer was about fit and, more specifically, about winning.
"I think I fit well with this culture … I think the choice was about trying to win, trying to help them win, and that’s why I made this decision.”
He reinforced that point by saying he "wanted to go to a winning culture," and called Minnesota "one of the best winning cultures" among the teams that were still in the mix.
That naturally got people wondering whether he was taking a shot at Atlanta. But that reading only holds up if the Hawks were still a real option when he made his decision.
They weren’t. Atlanta had some interest in bringing him back after declining his $24.3 million team option for the 2026-27 season, but once they added both Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort, the door on a reunion was shut.
So the remark lands less like a swipe and more like a straightforward explanation for why Minnesota won out.
And if the point was simply which remaining suitor gave him the best shot at chasing a title, the Timberwolves have a strong case. The franchise has never won a championship, but the recent results are hard to ignore. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals in both 2024 and 2025, and another run this season is still on the table.
In Other News...
Hawks Send A Blunt Message About What Matters Most Now
The Hawks kept reshaping the back end of their roster this offseason, and Devin Carter became the latest reminder that nothing is guaranteed once a new front office starts sorting priorities. Atlanta waived the guard on Sept. 11, a move that came after Carter arrived from Sacramento and after the Hawks had already stacked up multiple offseason changes as they look toward a more competitive 2026-27 campaign.
Carter, the No. 13 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, had spent two NBA seasons in the league and showed steady improvement along the way. Even so, Atlantas decision suggests the team is focused on immediate fit and flexibility more than pedigree or draft-night value, a blunt message for a roster that still appears to be taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Vince Carter Called Out An NBA Habit Hawks Fans Will Recognize
Vince Carters latest recollection lands in a way Hawks fans and plenty of NBA watchers can immediately picture. He described how, later in his career, some teammates were reaching for their phones at halftime to see what social media was saying rather than staying locked in on the film and the adjustments waiting in the locker room.
The frustration in Carters account is easy to understand for anyone who has followed how the league has changed around its players. Social media reaction has become part of the daily rhythm of the NBA, and the league has since moved to curb phone use during games, allowing it only for emergency communication, a reminder of how much the balance between attention and distraction has shifted. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Young Core Ranking Shows Who Atlanta May Need Most
The Hawks young core is still taking shape, but the conversation starts with the players who can already influence winning in more than one way. Atlantas roster features a mix of rookies and developing pieces in Veesaar, Ejiofor, Newell, Gueye and Flemings, each bringing a different tool kit and a different timeline for becoming reliable NBA rotation players. Some offer size, some energy, some defensive upside, and all of them are being evaluated not just for what they can do now, but for how they fit alongside the teams established pieces.
Among that group, Dyson Daniels stands out as the most proven young presence on the roster, giving Atlanta a clear benchmark for the rest of the age-25-and-under crowd. His defensive value has already put him in a different category, which matters for a Hawks team trying to identify which prospects can complement a contenders core and which ones still need time. The more interesting question now is which of the newer faces can follow him and make the leap from intriguing prospect to real part of the answer. [Read more 🡒]