Jonathan Kuminga’s Agent On How Anthony Edwards Convinced Him To Join Timberwolves Over Lakers
· Yahoo Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers failed in their quest to sign Jonathan Kuminga in free agency, with the forward opting to join the Minnesota Timberwolves instead. The Lakers reportedly put a three-year, $36 million deal on the table, but Kuminga agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract with the Timberwolves.
It was an interesting decision, and Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, revealed to The Athletic how Anthony Edwards helped convince his client to come to Minnesota.
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“Ant was super active in the recruitment of him,” Turner said. “One thing he did was focus his message on, we’re gonna really guard here. Everybody looked at the offensive end. JK and I looked more at the defensive end.”
The Timberwolves were initially offering Kuminga just the $3.6 million veteran minimum salary, and that was too low for even Edwards to do anything. Turner unsurprisingly asked them to free up more money to put up a more appealing offer. So why did they do that now?
Well, the Timberwolves just got a new controlling owner in Marc Stad. Stad told the president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, to do whatever it took to get up to the $6 million taxpayer mid-level exception.
Once this happened, Edwards got to work. He spoke to Kuminga about how the Timberwolves had no answer for him when they faced the Golden State Warriors in the 2025 playoffs. The 23-year-old had notably averaged 26.3 points over the final three games of that series.
Speaking of the Warriors, Kuminga infamously wasn’t on great terms with head coach Steve Kerr. Well, Edwards played under Kerr for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics and could relate when he spoke about why things didn’t quite work out in the Bay Area.
“Ant can relate to JK in a way very few, if any, in the world can,” Turner said. “Him saying, ‘I know what you can do’ meant a lot.”
While Edwards got to witness the best of Kuminga as a scorer in the NBA, that wasn’t the role he sold him on. The Timberwolves have some outstanding defenders in Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels, and he is expected to further enhance the team on that end of the floor.
“Ant did a great job of painting a picture of we’re going to be nasty defensively, and we’re going to share the ball,” Turner said.
McDaniels also reached out to Kuminga, as did another new addition in LaMelo Ball. He had dinner with Connelly and several conversations with head coach Chris Finch as well.
“He made this decision because of the defensive versatility of this team,” Turner said. “Offense is secondary to what he’s thinking about. It’s going to be whatever we gotta do to win that night. Nobody is going to care about stats or shots.”
Kuminga averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks in 2025-26. The Hawks, of course, had declined his $24.3 million team option for 2026-27 to allow him to hit free agency.
Kuminga’s tenure with the Hawks started well, but ultimately didn’t quite go according to plan. He and Turner believe the Timberwolves are the best fit, and once that was clear, the money wasn’t all too important.
“We sat at the gym this week, and I asked him, what’s the best basketball situation?” Turner said. “He said Minnesota. Well, nothing else matters. Why would you go anywhere else?”
Lakers fans had ripped Kuminga for turning down their team’s offer. He wouldn’t particularly care too much about that, though.
Importantly, this deal with the Timberwolves has a player option for 2027-28. That means if Kuminga shines, he could hit the market again when his stock is higher in 2027.
As for Edwards, his stock has been high for a while now, and that will remain the case for quite some time. The four-time All-Star averaged 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in 2025-26. Edwards is one of the best players in the world, but the NBA championship has eluded him. It will be interesting to see how far he can now take the Timberwolves with these new additions.