{"id":892014,"date":"2026-09-11T17:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T17:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/892014\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T17:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T17:30:10","slug":"new-nba-rumors-reveal-what-bulls-wouldnt-promise-jonathan-kuminga-in-contract-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/892014\/","title":{"rendered":"New NBA Rumors Reveal What Bulls &#8216;Wouldn&#8217;t Promise&#8217; Jonathan Kuminga in Contract Talks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Although the Chicago Bulls had &#8220;definite interest&#8221; in forward Jonathan Kuminga before he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team could not guarantee he would &#8220;start or close games most nights,&#8221; per <a class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__ui__link__medium_strong mui-mlpnpn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7582251\/2026\/09\/11\/jonathan-kuminga-timberwolves-nba-bulls-predictions\/?unlocked_article_code=1.AVE.Cjd4.Pcs13xxLtR1r&amp;source=emp_shared_article&amp;smid=ta-ios-share\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Joel Lorenzi<\/a> of The Athletic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">&#8220;But the Bulls expressed definite interest in Kuminga, according to a league source speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss front-office strategy,&#8221; Lorenzi wrote on Friday. &#8220;Bulls lead executive Bryson Graham was part of the Atlanta Hawks front office that traded for Kuminga last season, and a reunion was welcomed in Chicago with the understanding Kuminga wouldn&#8217;t displace the prioritized chips in the rebuild.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">&#8220;Per that source, the Bulls wouldn&#8217;t promise Kuminga he&#8217;d start or close games most nights, considering the franchise&#8217;s most coveted young talents are also forwards. This is to say nothing of Kuminga&#8217;s playstyle or decision-making reputation. In a role and contract considerate of those things, Chicago was willing to take a swing at his talent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">The 23-year-old Kuminga is entering his sixth NBA season. He spent his first four-plus years with the Golden State Warriors, who selected him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Golden State traded Kuminga to the Atlanta Hawks last February.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Last season, Kuminga posted 12.2 points on 46.3 percent shooting, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He played 36 games and averaged 23.1 minutes per game during a season when the Warriors dropped him of the rotation <a class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__ui__link__medium_strong mui-mlpnpn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6872098\/2025\/12\/08\/jonathan-kuminga-pulled-out-of-rotation-kerr\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">in December<\/a>. Kuminga <a class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__ui__link__medium_strong mui-mlpnpn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/warriors-sideline-kuminga-with-bone-bruise-and-knee-hyperextension\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">also dealt<\/a> with a bone bruise and hyperextended left knee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">He&#8217;s now in Minnesota, where he&#8217;ll get an opportunity to play significant minutes at forward, especially after the team traded Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Kuminga&#8217;s agent, Aaron Turner, believes that taking a shorter deal now (two years, <a class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__ui__link__medium_strong mui-mlpnpn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/49736014\/jonathan-kuminga-reaches-2-year-deal-minnesota-timberwolves\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">$12.4 million<\/a> with a 2027-28 player option) sets his client up for a much more lucrative deal in the 2027 free agent market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">He also explained why he feels Minnesota is the best fit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Ultimately, Kuminga values his spot and role in the rotation, which seems why Chicago, despite the interest, didn&#8217;t land him. Of course, things can certainly change next summer if Kuminga lands on the free agent market again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although the Chicago Bulls had &#8220;definite interest&#8221; in forward Jonathan Kuminga before he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-892014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}