The Minnesota Timberwolves have already put together a busy summer, and Jonathan Kuminga is now part of the mix. But before that move came together, Minnesota apparently had its eyes on a much bigger swing.
The team announced that it had signed forward Jonathan Kuminga. Per team policy, the terms were not released.
Kuminga, 23, finished his fifth NBA season after splitting time between the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors following a trade to the Hawks on Feb. 5.
He will wear No. 24 for the Timberwolves.
Minnesota also traded for LaMelo Ball right before the draft, but ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Timberwolves had tried to land Kawhi Leonard, too. Charania said, “This is a complete legacy play for Kawhi,” before adding, “There were teams - Detroit, Minnesota - others that had interest in trading for him, that wanted to trade for him, that wanted to give him an extension.
But he made a decision because he had one year left on his deal to essentially weed out where he wanted to play, where he wanted to be. And so this is a legacy play for Kawhi Leonard.
There’s no doubt about it.”
The trade sending Leonard from the LA Clippers to Toronto was later made official after a monthslong delay tied to the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers for salary cap circumvention. ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote, “The trade sending Kawhi Leonard from the LA Clippers to Toronto has been made official after a monthslong delay due to the NBA's investigation into the Clippers for salary cap circumvention. The teams initially agreed to the deal on June 30, but it was paused while the league investigated allegations the Clippers violated salary cap rules in signing Leonard as a free agent.”
For Minnesota, Leonard would have been the kind of addition that changes the entire conversation. Anthony Edwards already has help around him now, and Leonard would have added another superstar to the picture along with a defense that would have been even more suffocating. Leonard has made $375 million in his potential Hall of Fame career, but in the end, he chose Toronto.
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