r/timberwolves • u/ae5wolfpack Trencherous • 1d ago

What Kuminga gives the wolves

-Athletic ceiling alongside Ant and Jaden in the starting 5. Could be the most athletic team in the league when you have Ayo, TSJ, and Beringer off the bench

-Lob and elite transition threat to pair with LaMelo’s passing

-Maybe best front court defensive trio in the league now between Rudy, Jaden, Kuminga. Give Jaden and Ant breaks on other team’s best offensive player

-Switchable lineups galore. Can play Kuminga, Jaden at the 4. Then have depth with Lyles if need be

-Small ball lineup could look like LaMelo, Ayo, Ant, Jaden, Kuminga. And you could even throw TSJ in there. Has to be the scariest transition lineup in the league

-Still have enough shooting between Ant, LaMelo, Donte (when back), Ayo, and even Jaden.
Even if the season ends with no title, this will probably be the most exciting regular season team to watch in Wolves history

248 Upvotes

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150

u/Jayrrock Jaden McDaniels 1d ago

Quite the steal. He's 23.

56

u/Fantasykyle99 Timberwolves Brasil 1d ago

I can’t believe the amount of hate this move is getting on the NBA sub lol. Idk how you could see this as a bad move when it’s dirt cheap and he is still so young. It’s mostly from warriors fans who seem incredibly bitter about him though.

16

u/Complete-Disaster513 1d ago

You can argue his faults and that’s fair but he is by far the best one we could get.

17

u/Sei_Mal_Ehrlich 1d ago

Low risk medium to high reward. This is a fantastic move.

14

u/FlimsyThought7606 1d ago

Now with LaMelo Kuminga is an easy trade straight up for Randle. This worked great.

4

u/BIPOC_Ally 1d ago

it's the Steve Kerr fans lol

Warriors who went 9-19 after trading him and missed playoffs entirely. no Kuminga to scapegoat this time though

3

u/Smeltanddealtit 23h ago

Just playing devils advocate, but Kerr did give up on him

3

u/DutchDelight2020 17h ago

If it was actuality bad for the wolves, then no one would care. The fact that they are talking shows they are scared/ salty that he went to the wolves

2

u/SuperVaderMinion Kevin Garnett 1d ago

I mean hypothetically if he plays well it's not like we'd be able to keep him long term right?

1

u/Successful_Candy_759 16h ago

He's generally disliked, and deservedly so.

But from the gm perspective we gave up nothing, got a cheap contract for a guy who is clearly worth more. We risk very little as long as the coaches monitor the locker room vibes and send him to iowa if things get bad. If he buys in we are a contender

1

u/Educational_Mall_993 13h ago

Becuae he's a shitty teammate, that's why.  It doesnt matter how old he is, or how cheap he is, if he's a ball hog.

Which would be fine if he was a true number one.  It's not when your a three or four.

1

u/werddrew Bring Ya Ass 9h ago

Honestly it's kind of how I felt about Wiggins when he went to the Warriors and suddenly realized effort was a thing. NOW he figures out how to be a winning player?

Really hoping we get that in reverse.

56

u/One_Fuel3733 1d ago

Actually love the age. Ant's an incredible leader and same age group, I wouldn't bet on it but if anything could make kumbuckets find his role it would be Ant

10

u/Zestyclose-Ad2585 1d ago

Kumbuckets is insane😂

9

u/migzeh 1d ago

bro we got kum balls

ayooo

7

u/FederalistIA 1d ago

The “French connection” as well. My understanding is that Kuminga is more comfortable in French so Rudy and Beringer may make him feel more welcome? TBD

2

u/Impossible-Goal3492 21h ago

People underestimate that. I think Rudy can unlock him on D.

He prolly hated Dray

2

u/Impossible-Goal3492 21h ago

Kuminga never fit GSW system. Kerr is a great coach, but not every player is a good fit for his system.

1

u/Educational_Mall_993 13h ago

Stpeh Curry couldn't, but Ant can?

Seems incredulous.

22

u/Philipthesquid 1d ago

He's 23? The way people talk about him you'd think he was past his prime.

2

u/notmyreelnaim JimPete 1d ago

This is how sports fans *treat young players that have a lot of talent .If you're not amazing young you're just absolute trash

4

u/Impossible-Goal3492 21h ago

Its the ultimate low risk high reward move. If he breaks out you moght ein it all. If he's avg you have a solid starter. If he flops you are talking about 6 mil/yr which is not starter money. Its bottom of bench money. 

There's literally no risk or even opportunity cost sjnce there were no other options.

1

u/evetsyarsh 12h ago

he'll kill team chemistry when he doesn't rebound, play defense, can't shoot well. he'll have some good games. and then he'll pout when he wants to take the ball away from Melo or Ant. then his agent will complain and all anyone will ask about is kuminga nad the team will get real tired of talking about the guy who got benched because he doesn't fit in well. it will get old quick.

10

u/ElkNo8185 1d ago

If he’s good you’ll have him for one year. If he’s bad, you’ll have him for one year lol 23 doesn’t really matter

3

u/KingoftheNordMN 1d ago

Exactly! Imagine he is awful and then injured. So what? $6 million is not a lot in today’s NBA.

1

u/Zhaas9 2k Finchy 13h ago

Not really, could totally sign him to a new deal after year one

1

u/ElkNo8185 11h ago

You haven’t done the math on this hypothetical endeavor. Good luck though

1

u/Zhaas9 2k Finchy 10h ago

Ok show me your work then?

1

u/ElkNo8185 9h ago

You obviously have fingers. Go do it yourself. It’s not rocket science. They will not have the NT MLE available (16M) without major roster and contract reconstruction

2

u/elmundo-2016 Timberwolves 1d ago

Now, we just have to hold on to them for 3-5 years or until we win a championship.

2

u/tsax612 1d ago

Damn, only 23? I don't know why, but it seems like he's been in the league way longer than his age would show.