The Los Angeles Lakers lacked a versatile wing defender and Jonathan Kuminga provided a solution. All signs had pointed toward the talented youngster joining the Purple and Gold.
But the free agent forward signed a two-year, $13 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday, according to NBA insider Shams Charania. Kuminga became one of the final players off the market with training camp set to start next month.
He will join Anthony Edwards and Lamelo Ball in Minnesota after being linked to the Lakers for a majority of the offseason.
According to Charania, Kuminga bypassed a longer contract from Los Angeles. The Lakers reportedly offered the talented wing a three-year deal, worth at least $12 million per season.
Both the Bulls and Trail Blazers were believed to have made an offer to the 23-year-old.
Instead, Kuminga is heading into the ice on a deal worth just $6 million per year. The only way the Lakers could have signed Kuminga was via a sign-and-trade with the Atlanta Hawks, which would have required a three-year contract.
Kuminga opted for a shorter-term deal with the Timberwolves in order to have more control over his future, per Charania.
Over the last month, the Timberwolves persistently recruited Kuminga with Edwards being heavily involved in the process. Team president Tim Connelly traveled to Miami for a four-hour in-person meeting with Kuminga earlier this month.
In the end, Kuminga’s free agency was less about the money and more about the length of the deal.
