Jonathan Kuminga’s first preseason look in a Timberwolves uniform did little to quiet the noise around what Milwaukee may or may not have missed.
Kuminga was on the Bucks’ offseason radar before the decision narrowed to Minnesota or the Lakers, and the Timberwolves ended up getting the nod. With Milwaukee moving into a rebuild after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kuminga landing with a team built to chase a championship made sense on paper.
So this was never the kind of move that should have left the Bucks feeling like they lost out. Still, if there was any lingering regret in Milwaukee, Wednesday’s performance should have helped ease it.
Against the Pacers in preseason action, Kuminga put up two points on 1-of-9 shooting, missed all three of his attempts from beyond the arc, and added one rebound, three assists and one steal in nearly 19 minutes. He was also the only starter with a negative plus-minus, finishing at minus-7.
It would be over the top to treat a preseason game like a referendum, especially with a player earning $6 million this season. But the outing didn’t do much to build confidence that Kuminga is the answer Minnesota needs.
What stood out was how familiar some of it looked. Kuminga resembled the version of himself the Warriors knew too well: uneven, hard to project, and not yet the kind of steady piece a contender can plug in and trust. If that’s the player Milwaukee would have gotten, the buzz around signing him would have faded fast.
The expectations around his fit with Minnesota were always a little inflated. The Timberwolves needed a starting power forward, and Kuminga’s choice to pass on the Lakers made him easy to frame as the missing piece for a team with real ambitions. But he’s never really been that player.
Wednesday offered a reminder of why. Kuminga didn’t look comfortable as part of the Timberwolves’ offense. He missed at the rim, which is supposed to be one of his strengths, and he also came up empty on open chances created by LaMelo Ball.
There were also possessions where he tried to do too much, including a pull-up against Kelly Oubre Jr. with 7 seconds left on the shot clock while Ayo Dosunmu was open on the perimeter. It’s still preseason, but Kuminga can’t be the one taking over those kinds of possessions. That isn’t his game, and it was an issue for him in Golden State, too.
The problems weren’t limited to offense. On the other end, Kuminga looked uncertain at times and got moved around. If he’s taking possessions on defense like that, he’s going to find himself headed to the bench.
Minnesota is chasing something bigger this season than Milwaukee is, and that raises the stakes for Kuminga, who is still looking for a major payday. In Milwaukee, he would have had more room to work through mistakes and sort things out.
That might have helped him. It also might not have helped the Bucks.
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