Jonathan Kuminga is still sitting in free agency a month in, but the Minnesota Timberwolves have now entered the picture - and their interest may say as much about one playoff stretch as it does about the player himself.
According to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype on Friday, Minnesota has expressed interest in the former Golden State Warriors forward. The timing is interesting, because it lines up with the stretch in 2025 when Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury opened the door for Kuminga to take on a much bigger role against the Timberwolves in the second round.
That’s the part of this story that could become a trap for Minnesota. Kuminga has never really put together a consistent track record of helping a team win over the course of a season, but he did flash loudly in those final four games against the Wolves after Curry went down.
He barely played in the Warriors’ seven-game first-round series against the Houston Rockets, appearing just three times. Then he logged only 13 minutes in Golden State’s 11-point win in Game 1 against Minnesota.
Once Curry was sidelined, Steve Kerr had little choice but to lean on Kuminga. His minutes jumped, his offensive workload jumped, and he ended up leading the Warriors in scoring over the next four games.
Across that stretch, Kuminga averaged 24.3 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 55.4% from the field and 38.9% from 3-point range. It was the kind of burst that left plenty of people wondering why he had not been featured more before Curry’s injury.
Still, Golden State lost all four of those games and was knocked out of the playoffs, which is why some people still question how much Kuminga’s production actually translated to winning. Minnesota may have seen enough in that series to keep him on its radar, but that four-game run is also the kind of sample that can mislead a front office.
The Wolves do have a path to offer him a role. After trading Julius Randle and Reid, and after joining the Warriors in missing out on LeBron James, Minnesota has a starting power forward spot available. But the financial side looks like the real issue.
Scotto wrote, "The Timberwolves have also expressed interest in Kuminga with their starting power forward spot up for grabs and their $6.06 million taxpayer mid-level exception available for the taking," Scotto wrote.
That figure makes a deal hard to imagine for Kuminga, especially after the Atlanta Hawks declined his $24.3 million team option for next season. That’s why sign-and-trade possibilities have been part of the conversation throughout free agency.
Scotto also noted that the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers still have interest in Kuminga. A return to the Hawks is also still on the table after Kuminga and Buddy Hield were traded in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis at February’s mid-season deadline.
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