Minnesota Timberwolves President Tim Connelly described Jonathan Kuminga as a player who fits Minnesota’s plans on both ends of the floor while explaining the process behind the Timberwolves’ decision to sign him during Thursday’s introductory press conference.
Connelly said the Timberwolves focused on being straightforward with Kuminga during their recruitment rather than trying to oversell the opportunity.
“Just being transparent and honest,” Connelly said. “The guy, he’s seen winning, so he had a high expectation of a team that’s going to win. As do we.”
Kuminga has played 294 regular-season games and 40 playoff games in his first five NBA seasons. He won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022 and averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 36 games between Golden State and Atlanta last season.
Connelly emphasized that Kuminga’s age was another major part of Minnesota’s interest.
“He’s accomplished so much, he’s only 23 years old, his best basketball is well in front of him,” Connelly said. “You want to sell, but you don’t want to recruit.”
The Timberwolves president of basketball operations said he and Kuminga’s representatives spent time discussing how the player could fit into Minnesota’s plans.
“Just kind of being ourselves and telling him how we envision our team and helping him and how we envision him helping our team,” Connelly said. “So, just trying to be honest and as clear and transparent as possible.”
Connelly also highlighted the potential combination of Kuminga and LaMelo Ball, whom Minnesota acquired in a four-team trade earlier in the offseason.
“Jonathan’s, you know, in a league of elite athletes, he’s as elite as it gets,” Connelly said. “He’s instantly becomes one of our best cutters. He’s got an innate feel for getting open. He brings championship DNA.”
Connelly believes Ball’s passing can complement those qualities.
“LaMelo is one of the best playmakers in the league,” he said. “So, I think when you combine his ability to get open and his well-timed cuts and certainly in transition, there’s not many players better than Jonathan in our league.”
Minnesota also needed to replace Julius Randle and Naz Reid after losing both players in the offseason. Connelly said the organization initially did not expect Kuminga to become available but viewed him as an ideal solution.
“We thought he’d be a perfect fit, not just his age and athleticism, but his two-way ability and again how much winning he’s seen,” Connelly said.
Kuminga has averaged 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists over his career while shooting 50.2% from the field. Connelly specifically pointed to his versatility and ability to attack closeouts.
“We think we have a bunch of versatile guys,” he said. “Our coaching staff’s the best in the league. They do a great job of not kind of pigeonholing guys in one or two positions.”
“He can play up, he can play down,” Connelly added. “There’s not many better one dribble drive guys in the league than Jonathan.”
Connelly also expects Minnesota’s young core to take on greater responsibility after the departures of Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson and Joe Ingles.
“These guys are young in age, but they’re not young in playing experience,” Connelly said. “So, we’re going to ask them to take on more responsibility.”
While the Timberwolves expect Anthony Edwards, Ball and Jaden McDaniels to assume larger leadership roles, Connelly believes Kuminga’s playoff experience gives him another important advantage.
“I don’t think we’re young in experience,” he said. “There’s not a lot of teams that boast the amount of playoff experience that he’s seen or Ant’s seen or Jaden’s seen.”
Connelly closed by stressing the organization’s belief in Kuminga’s trajectory.
“He’s produced every year. He’s won every year,” Connelly said. “His first five years have been fantastic and hopefully six is the best one yet.”
