The longest NBA free agency saga of the summer has ended in an unexpected place. Jonathan Kuminga agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a player option included, according to his agent Aaron Turner's confirmation to Shams Charania on ESPN. Only one name remains from the major free agency logjam: Jalen Duren.
What He Rejected to Sign This
The fine print of the agreement is what's truly newsworthy, because it inverts all the logic of the summer. Kuminga had offers on the table from the Lakers, Bulls, and Blazers, and the Los Angeles offer included a starting role and more than $12 million annually over three seasons, according to sources cited. He chose the opposite: less than half the money per year, a short contract, and the player option that allows him to become an unrestricted free agent as soon as next summer.
It's, exactly, the script of Bennedict Mathurin twenty-four hours earlier: the young players stuck in the logjam have collectively decided that control is worth more than the check. The player who in July was asking for between $25 and $30 million annually now accepts around $6.5 million, with the implicit bet of breaking the market in 2027 from a winning showcase. From the dreamed figure to the signed one lies an abyss, but also a plan.
Starter in an Elite Starting Five
Because the showcase is the other half of the decision. Kuminga will start in Minnesota alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert, the starting five that was completed this summer with the arrival of the point guard and that we analyzed in our Western Conference review: talent in abundance up front and a second unit on a shoestring, which is precisely where this signing doesn't help... because the Congolese player isn't coming to back up, he's coming to start.
For the Wolves, the operation is perfect: the athletic and defensive wing that was missing on the perimeter, at an exceptional price and with hunger for a contract. For the Lakers, on the other hand, it's the failure of their stated objective for the entire summer, with the sign-and-trade from Atlanta dead on the table and Plan B of Naji Marshall moving from hypothesis to the only option if they want to close the defensive wound before training camp.