After former Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, there were lots of opinions. Many made fun of Kuminga and his agent Aaron Turner for having to sign a two-year, $12.4 million deal when they left a lot of money on the table in contract negotiations with the Warriors last summer.
Seemingly everyone had an opinion which is why it’s not a big surprise that Draymond Green issued a warning to Kuminga after his latest deal. Green took to his podcast and said the following about Kuminga’s contract with Minnesota:
“Now here's where those things get dicey, when you go to a team on a lower level salary... and all of a sudden that starting lineup isn't getting off to great starts, the analytics say this group isn't working that well together, a $6.5 million salary in the NBA is a bench role salary... so my only worry for J.K. is that if it's not working, you're the first plug that gets pulled," Green said.
Jonathan Kuminga set up for intriguing year in Minnesota
Green brings up a really important point. Kuminga may be “betting on himself” as Turner would put it, but there is a lot of risk that comes with that. If he doesn’t perform all that well or if the team is bad, that’s bad news for Kuminga. Like Green said, if things go south Kuminga will likely be the first out the door because it won’t be a big financial hit to move on.
Green always spoke highly of his former teammate. It was clear he had nothing but love for the young forward and always talked about how well he handled the controversy surrounding his usage, and the non-stop trade chatter that surrounded him especially last season.
He seems to truly have his best interest at heart and his comments definitely feel like they come from a genuine place. Green wants the best for Kuminga and at this point in his career, the deal signed with the Timberwolves may be the best situation for him.
Kuminga will get to be a role-player on a team that should make the playoffs if they play up to their potential. That will give him a chance to showcase his skills and maybe prove to another team that he can be a starting-caliber player.
That's the dream scenario though. The much more likely outcome is that Kuminga continues to be the exact same player he was with the Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks. It's not like after he got traded to Atlanta he took some big step forward and became a superstar like some thought he would. He was a fine player but not worth north of $20 million a year, meaning he and Turner actually did the Warriors a huge favor by rejecting their higher offers.
Green knows that Kuminga has essentially boxed himself into a bench player role. Perhaps he can break out of that, but it wouldn't shock anyone if the former seventh overall pick just stayed in a reserve role going forward.
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