{"id":829261,"date":"2026-08-29T01:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T01:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/829261\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T01:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T01:40:11","slug":"agent-explains-why-jonathan-kuminga-chose-timberwolves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/829261\/","title":{"rendered":"Agent Explains Why Jonathan Kuminga Chose Timberwolves"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a contentious relationship with the Warriors over money and playing time, followed by the Hawks\u2019 decision to decline their $24MM team option, Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> was looking for a situation where he knew he was wanted. The Timberwolves took care of that with an aggressive recruiting pitch and an offer that gives him control of his future, agent Aaron Turner tells Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kuminga was the top unrestricted free agent on the market for most of the summer, but many of the teams with interest were limited in what they could pay him without a sign-and-trade. Although he potentially could have wound up with more money if he continued to wait, Kuminga decided to end the process this week by agreeing to a two-year deal<\/a> with Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is your chance to go to a place you can feel believed in,\u201d Turner said he told Kuminga. \u201cThey\u2019re going to encourage you. They\u2019re going to push you, but they\u2019re not going to run away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony Edwards<\/a> took the lead in the recruitment process, selling Kuminga on the Wolves\u2019 style of play and their need for a power forward after parting with Julius Randle<\/a> and Naz Reid<\/a> in separate trades this offseason. Krawczynski notes that Edwards has embraced his role as a team leader and was active in organizing a recent team trip to Paris to work out with Rudy Gobert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Edwards\u2019 2024 Olympics experience gave him a chance to play for Steve Kerr, whom Kuminga often clashed with during his time with Golden State, so they were able to discuss what went wrong. Edwards also talked extensively about their 2025 playoff meeting, when Kuminga averaged 20.8 points per game and proved to be a tough matchup for the Wolves\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnt can relate to JK in a way very few, if any, in the world can,\u201d Turner said. \u201cHim saying, \u2018I know what you can do\u2019 meant a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaMelo Ball<\/a> and Jaden McDaniels<\/a> also reached out to Kuminga, and the strong sales pitch went beyond the players. Turner confirms that president of basketball operations Tim Connelly met Kuminga for dinner in Miami and was very direct about what the team could offer him and what it would expect in return. Alex Rodriguez contacted Kuminga to express the support of ownership, and coach Chris Finch spoke to him numerous times with an emphasis on accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a solid respect factor from top to bottom,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n

Krawczynski points out that Turner\u2019s long relationship with Connelly and general manager Matt Lloyd may have helped a deal get done. The Wolves were only able to offer a $3.6MM veteran\u2019s minimum contract to Kuminga when the process began, but Turner encouraged them to free up more space to make their bid more competitive. That happened when new controlling owner Marc Stad authorized spending up to the $6MM mid-level exception.<\/p>\n

Kuminga\u2019s contract includes a player option for the second season, which is something the Warriors refused to give him during last summer\u2019s negotiations. The hope is that Kuminga will be Minnesota\u2019s long-term answer at power forward, but Krawczynski cites a belief that both sides can benefit even if the arrangement only lasts one year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing he can do for himself is focus on the moment,\u201d Turner said. \u201cIf everybody guards and nobody cares about stats and it\u2019s all about the team and winning, it\u2019s going to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a contentious relationship with the Warriors over money and playing time, followed by the Hawks\u2019 decision to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":829262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[12306,31513,158985,114221,6422,25179,351228,290524,99,76496],"class_list":["post-829261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-alex-rodriguez","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-chris-finch","tag-jaden-mcdaniels","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-lamelo-ball","tag-marc-stad","tag-matt-lloyd","tag-sports","tag-tim-connelly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/829262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}