Jonathan Kuminga is heading into Minnesota with something he’s never really had before: certainty.
According to his agent Aaron Turner, the Timberwolves made the role plain from the start. In an interview with Run It Back, Turner said Kuminga was told he’d come in as a starter at the four, and that the plan was spelled out clearly before camp even got rolling.
“Yeah, this was a clear-cut… you're coming in here to start at the four, with Melo, Ant, Jaden, JK, Rudy. Obviously they have great young guys coming in too. You got Ayo, you got Terrence Shannon Jr., Donte when he comes back.”
Turner also framed Minnesota as a roster with serious depth and a lot of moving pieces, which made Kuminga’s assignment an important one to define early. He said the Timberwolves were still sorting through exactly how they wanted to use him once camp and preseason began, especially alongside Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball.
“I think on paper, this is obviously one of the most stacked teams. Going into camp, going into preseason, how are they viewing JK?
Is he a starter? Is he more of an energy guy?
What are they looking to use him for, playing with Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball? Obviously he's 23 years old.”
For Kuminga, the appeal wasn’t just the role itself. Turner said this is the first time in his six-year career that he’s walked into a season knowing he would start.
“So they pitched a great, clear role. And for JK going into year six, which it's crazy it's year six now, but he's never got to come into the season going, ‘I know I'm the starter.'
That tailwind of just clear, ‘Hey man, you're coming in here to start.' Chris Finch did a great job explaining the role to him that he envisions and how they wanna play.”
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