Jonathan Kuminga’s path to earning minutes with the Minnesota Timberwolves starts on the defensive end.
The Wolves brought in the 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward because of the kind of upside that can change a lineup fast. He has burst, length and enough scoring punch to give Minnesota another weapon.
But as training camp approaches, the clearest route for him to carve out a role is not by forcing shots. It’s by doing the dirty work.
Head coach Chris Finch made that point plain when he told MinnPost’s Britt Robson that the starting power forward job is “[Kuminga’s] to lose.” Finch also said the way Kuminga keeps that spot is tied directly to how well he helps the team on defense.
“The way that he wins it most rapidly is by solidifying our defense into [an elite unit], which we feel he has the capability to do,” Finch said. “...
He is going to fit right in because he has the same problem we all have: He fouls too much. So let’s get that under control teamwide, which we haven’t been able to do.
[But], I think the rebounding piece is important. I was just talking to him today: ‘If you rebound at a high level for us, it is going to be such a shot in the arm.’”
That lines up with what makes Kuminga such an interesting fit. The offense should not be the hard part.
He can get downhill, run the floor, create his own shot and manufacture tough baskets even when the possession breaks down. The concerns are familiar: streaky scoring, shaky shot selection and subpar shooting from deep.
Still, his athleticism gives him enough juice to matter on that side of the ball.
Defense, though, is where he can make the fastest impact.
Kuminga has been an average defender over his career, with a 113.4 defensive rating per 100 possessions. That leaves room for a leap, and even a modest one would put him in range of the elite defenders who usually sit at 110.0 or better. He also gave the Warriors solid work on the ball last season, holding opponents to 47.7 percent shooting when he was the primary defender, according to NBA.com.
Then there’s the rebounding, which may be the most immediate need of all.
Kuminga’s career average sits at 4.2 rebounds per game, but that number has climbed in four of his five seasons. Last year he reached a career-best 5.6 boards per game. On a per-36 basis, he has a career average of 6.9 rebounds and jumped to 8.8 last season.
Minnesota has a real opening there. Julius Randle and Naz Reid are gone, taking 13.9 rebounds per game with them.
Last season, the Timberwolves finished 13th in total rebounds at 44.1 per game and 17th in offensive rebounds at 11.1 per game. That leaves Kuminga with a clear job description if he wants to stay on the floor.
The matchup piece matters too. Minnesota needed a body who could handle athletic power forwards, and that responsibility could have fallen to Jaden McDaniels. But McDaniels is better used on the perimeter, which puts Kuminga in line to take on some of the bigger players at that position.
The Wolves would obviously love for the offense to click right away. But during the recruitment process, Finch and Anthony Edwards kept coming back to the same themes: defense, rebounding and control.
If Kuminga can clean the glass and hold his ground against opposing power forwards, he gives Minnesota a real early boost. The scoring upside can follow once he settles in.
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