The Minnesota Timberwolves are betting on Jonathan Kuminga in a way a few other teams plainly weren’t.
Chicago was among the clubs that showed interest in the forward during free agency, but the Bulls were not willing to hand him the kind of job security Kuminga wanted. According to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, that was the sticking point.
“The Bulls wouldn’t promise Kuminga he’d start or close games most nights, considering the franchise’s most coveted young talents are also forwards. This is to say nothing of Kuminga’s playstyle or decision-making reputation. In a role and contract considerate of those things, Chicago was willing to take a swing at his talent," Lorenzi reported.
That matters because Chicago wasn’t some outlier. The Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks had already shown their own doubts about whether Kuminga was a true starting-level player. Now the Bulls have joined that group, even after having been linked to him last offseason during his stalled free agency situation with Golden State.
The fit in Chicago would have been interesting on paper. Kuminga alongside Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick, and Matas Buzelis, the former No. 11 pick, would have given the Bulls a young, athletic forward group. But the fact that Chicago still wouldn’t guarantee him a starting or closing role says plenty about how he’s viewed around the league.
That perception also helps explain why Kuminga’s free agency ended the way it did. He wound up with just a two-year, $12.4 million contract, which says a lot about the market’s belief in him as a starter on a good team.
Minnesota is choosing a different path. The Timberwolves signed Kuminga last month and are giving him the opening-night starting role the Warriors, Hawks and apparently the Bulls were not ready to promise. They are also doing it while filling a vacancy at power forward, which only sharpens the gamble.
And they’re not stopping there. Along with the incredibly talented LaMelo Ball, the Timberwolves are building around a pair of high-upside risks that could make them one of the league’s most fascinating teams to watch this season.
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