For weeks, it felt like Jonathan Kuminga would soon become a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers front office did all it could to turn that feeling into a reality, but now we see that this situation simply wasn't meant to be.
The Lakers reportedly promised Kuminga a starting role and offered him more than $36 million over three years ... far more guaranteed money than Kuminga will be earning on the two-year, $12.4 million deal he agreed to with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
One thing the Lakers weren't able to provide Kuminga was a player option, which the Wolves' contract includes. It looks like flexibility and control over his immediate future was a big deal to Kuminga, which convinced him to take a smaller deal, cash-wise.
But that's not all. We learned from The Athletic recently that Kuminga also views the Timberwolves as a more viable winner in 2026-27 than the Lakers. Apparently, this was another factor -- beyond the player option -- that contributed to Kuminga's decision to spurn LA for Minnesota.
Jonathan Kuminga thought the Timberwolves were a better team than the Lakers
“We sat at the gym this week, and I asked him, what’s the best basketball situation?” Kuminga's agent, Aaron Turner, told The Athletic. “He said Minnesota. Well, nothing else matters. Why would you go anywhere else?”
There's a ton of hypocrisy vibes surrounding Turner and Kuminga during all of this. For years, all we've ever heard from Kuminga's camp is that he's underpaid and undervalued, and that he needs the ball more or is waiting to cash in on his fat contract soon. It's resulted in a widespread assumption -- whether accurate or not -- that Kuminga cares more about getting paid than playing on a winning team.
Suddenly, we're supposed to jump on board with the notion that Kuminga isn't concerned about guaranteed money as much as playing unselfish basketball? Yeah ... no. This all sounds about as authentic as an Alex Rodriguez fake smile (speaking of A-Rod ... he was involved with recruiting Kuminga to Minny).
If we give Kuminga the benefit of the doubt here and assume that he's matured recently and truly wants to win over anything else, the Lakers just received some nice motivation/fuel. It gives them another reason to dispose of the Wolves in a playoff series, or at least still be standing when Minnesota bites the dust in the playoffs.
Either scenario would have Kuminga completely second-guessing his decision, especially if he doesn't cash in on a colossal deal following his assumed opt-out (the real reason for this decision).
Lakers can make Jonathan Kuminga decision look unwise by having a stronger season than Wolves
Kuminga is only 23 years old. You mean to tell me that he was worried about future earnings had he accepted a deal with the Lakers that would've made him a free agent at 26? Not to mention that he'd have more than $36 million in guaranteed money in his pocket rather than the roughly $6 million he'll garner from the Wolves deal. Confusing, isn't it?
And if Kuminga was worried about visibility and showing his talents to the world, there's no reason he wouldn't have had that on arguably the most visible team on the planet: The Los Angeles Lakers (who were prepared to offer him more minutes than Minnesota, most likely).
Do Kuminga and his agent think he's going to get a max contract or something next offseason? That's not going to happen, and they'd better hope the Lakers turn into a disaster this season, or this decision is only going to look more questionable.
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