Jonathan Kuminga has spent the preseason trimming away the biggest concern that followed him to the Minnesota Timberwolves: whether he could function cleanly in an offense that won’t be built around him.
That question hung over his arrival because of how things played out before Minnesota got him. The Golden State Warriors traded him to the Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta did not give him a contract offer this summer. The fear was simple enough - would Kuminga be able to thrive without having the ball constantly in his hands?
So far, he has answered that in convincing fashion.
Kuminga has looked sharp all preseason, blending shot-making, rebounding, and defense in a way that has fit the Wolves’ new direction. On Wednesday night at Target Center against the Detroit Pistons, he delivered his strongest outing yet, and he was one of the few Minnesota players who handled Detroit’s size, strength, and pressure with real success.
The best sign for the Wolves was how little Kuminga forced. He didn’t bog down the offense or crowd the floor. Instead, he attacked a defense that kept changing looks and punished the Pistons when they left him open on the perimeter.
Kuminga finished with 16 points on 5-6 shooting, along with 4 REBs and 3 ASTs. He also knocked down two of his three three-pointers, which matters for a Minnesota team that wants spacing around Rudy Gobert.
His scoring came in a variety of ways. He buried a midrange shot as a pick-and-roll outlet, crashed for offensive rebounds, made plays in transition as both a scorer and a passer, and slipped behind the defense for a back-door finish when his man helped elsewhere. There were hardly any careless shots in the mix, and he kept the ball moving with quick decisions throughout the night.
That matters because Kuminga’s job in Minnesota is not about freewheeling his way to empty numbers. His role is expected to resemble Jaden McDaniels’ in the Wolves’ new-look starting lineup: stay engaged, pick the right spots, and capitalize when defenses give him openings. With opposing teams concentrating on LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards, Kuminga and McDaniels should both see their share of weaker matchups.
McDaniels has already shown he can do that without hijacking the offense. Kuminga will need to keep proving he can wait for the right moment, take advantage when it arrives, and still stay active when the ball isn’t coming to him.
"Just being aggressive. Exploiting the mismatches," Edwards said of Kuminga's performance against the Pistons.
"They can’t really guard him. They tried to put the worst defenders on him.
Just trying to give it to him and play in space."
That approach has been easy to buy into so far. Kuminga has said and done the right things since arriving in Minnesota, and he seems to understand that his path to a long-term deal - with the Timberwolves or somewhere else - runs through helping a winning team rather than chasing his own stats.
The real examination starts next week when the games count. Preseason buy-in is one thing.
Doing it when the results matter is another. Kuminga will almost certainly be in the starting lineup every night, but the tougher question is how he handles it if Chris Finch closes games without him.
That is where the fit gets tested. When the stakes rise and the incentives aren’t perfectly aligned, does Kuminga keep slotting in the way Minnesota needs, or does he start looking for more?
If the preseason is any clue, the Wolves have reason to feel better about the answer. They need defense, rebounding, and a forward who can’t simply be ignored on offense, and Kuminga has checked those boxes through five preseason games.
Timberwolves players and coaches have spoken highly of "JK," and he has matched the tone around him with his play. From the front office’s point of view, he has looked like the player Minnesota thought it was getting after heavily recruiting him this summer.
That puts Tim Connelly back in familiar territory. His moves have often been doubted, most notably the trade for Rudy Gobert, but he has had a habit of getting the last laugh. Through five games of the preseason, that trend appears to be holding again.
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