The Minnesota Timberwolves have a problem sitting in plain sight, and it’s hard to ignore: they need a power forward. That need has been obvious ever since they traded Naz Reid and Julius Randle, and the current pursuit of LeBron James doesn’t change the reality that Minnesota can’t count on landing him.
The latest reporting has only sharpened that point. The Stein Line said this weekend that Cleveland appears to be the frontrunner for James, and Brian Windhorst echoed that view. If the Wolves miss there, the list of clean answers gets thin fast.
That’s part of why Jonathan Kuminga has started to look like the kind of name Minnesota may have to consider. The Wolves have already missed out on most of the free agents who could have helped at the position, including Rui Hachimura, who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Kuminga is one of the few rotation-level forwards still on the board.
The timing matters, too. A trade for a power forward becomes harder once the LaMelo Ball trade is finalized on July 9, because Josh Green cannot be aggregated with another player in a trade for 60 days after the deal is completed. That leaves Minnesota with a narrower path if it wants to add an impact piece soon.
If the Wolves are going to solve this in free agency, Kuminga may be the best remaining swing. There hasn’t been any reporting tying him to Minnesota yet, but it wouldn’t be surprising if that changes. And if the team strikes out on James, the logic gets even stronger.
Of course, Kuminga comes with real baggage. The upside is easy to see: an athletic two-way wing with size and length.
The production has been a different story. He has not been a positive defender, and his attention to detail and technique still need work.
He also hasn’t shown much as a decision-maker, often taking bad shots and offering little as a playmaker.
That helps explain why the Atlanta Hawks declined his team option and why he fell out of favor with Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors.
Still, Kuminga is only 23, and on a prove-it deal there’s at least a chance he can clean up some of the rough edges. The market doesn’t offer many better options, either. Minnesota could wait and try to make a trade in September or at the deadline, assuming it doesn’t extend the LaMelo deal, but there’s an argument for solving the roster issue now instead of kicking the can down the road.
The financial piece is part of the equation as well. Kuminga probably won’t come cheap enough for a minimum deal, but waiving Green could give the Wolves extra money to make a run at him.
And for all the flaws, there’s a real path to this working. If Kuminga starts defending consistently and makes smarter choices with the ball, he could become a versatile and highly useful forward. He can score, and his best trait is attacking the rim.
That’s the gamble Minnesota would be taking: not a finished product, but a player whose problems might be fixable in the right setting. With the Wolves staring at a glaring hole in the frontcourt, Kuminga may be the kind of risk they have to consider.
In Other News...
Jaden McDaniels Buzz Suddenly Feels Bigger For The Timberwolves
Jaden McDaniels spent last season showing more of the offensive game Minnesota has long hoped would arrive, and it came at a time when the Timberwolves were still sorting out what his ceiling might look like. He put together a career-best year at the scoring end, with better efficiency across the board, and that has only added to the sense inside the organization that his next step could be a meaningful one.
The bigger question now is how that growth fits into a reshaped rotation. McDaniels had briefly looked like a possible second scoring option after Julius Randle was traded, but the addition of LaMelo Ball changes the picture again and gives Minnesota a different kind of lead guard to work with. James White and Tim Connelly have both sounded encouraged about where McDaniels is headed, and the Timberwolves seem to believe the real test is no longer whether he can handle more, but how much more they can ask of him. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Are Testing A Frontcourt Look Fans Havent Forgotten
The Timberwolves are giving a familiar-looking frontcourt experiment a summer showcase, planning to run Joan Beringer and Rocco Zikarsky together as a double-big look in summer league. Both are second-year players from the 2025 draft class, with Beringer going 17th overall and Zikarsky coming off the board at 45th, and the team wants a closer read on how their size can work in tandem rather than just in theory.
There is a reason this pairing has caught attention beyond July games. Zikarsky brings enough offensive range to at least open the door to a frontcourt fit that echoes the kind of spacing-and-size balance Minnesota has chased before, while Beringers comfort shifting to the four gives the Wolves another way to test the idea. Even so, this is still more of an evaluation than a preview of the regular season, where the club is unlikely to lean on the look heavily. [Read more 🡒]
One Quote Just Raised A Painful Question About The Wolves' Gamble
Micah Noris move from the Timberwolves to the Portland Trail Blazers already made him an interesting link between two franchises, but a recent comment from Jrue Holiday gave that connection a sharper edge. Holidays view of what Minnesota has been building only adds to the sense that the Wolves are operating with real expectations now, especially after making a major swing to install LaMelo Ball as their starting point guard.
The gamble is obvious from a roster-construction standpoint: Ball brings offense and a different kind of playmaking, but the fit next to Anthony Edwards has to work on both ends for Minnesotas ceiling to stay where it wants it. For a team that has leaned on its defensive identity, the concern is whether adding Ball helps push the Wolves forward or asks them to give up too much of what made them dangerous in the first place. [Read more 🡒]