Jonathan Kuminga has appeared destined for the Los Angeles Lakers over recent weeks, but the idea of an underwhelming sign-and-trade means the Atlanta Hawks could be steering the young forward into the lap of another Golden State Warriors rival.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are emerging as a strong suitor for Kuminga, particularly in the wake of the Cleveland Cavaliers remvoing themselves from the race by acquiring Denver Nuggets restricted free agent Peyton Watson on Wednesday.
Hawks steering Jonathan Kuminga towards Timberwolves move
As ESPN's Brian Windhorst laid out again during Friday's episode of The Hoop Collective, any sign-and-trade would likely require the Hawks to go into the tax, meaning they'd have to be strongly enticed and appeased in a way the Lakers haven't been willing to offer at this stage.
The sign-and-trade difficulty, combined with the dwindling options for Kuminga, could force him into a lower one-year, prove it contract with the Timberwolves where he could get a primary role playing alongside Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball.
“Watch the Wolves in the next couple of days," Windhorst said. “I've just been very doubtful that unless the Hawks are in love with the situation, that they're going to end up sign-and-trading Kuminga...So if the Timberwolves, now that these other doors are closing, if the Timberwolves can close that deal."
Kuminga could walk into the starting power forward role vacated by the departures of Julius Randle and Naz Reid earlier this offseason. It would leave the Timberwolves with an intriguing starting five of Ball, Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Kuminga and Rudy Gobert -- a team with enormous upside yet still with some question marks.
Warriors may prefer Kuminga landing with Timberwolves over Lakers
Kuminga coming back to the Western Conference wouldn't be ideal for Golden State. One of the reasons they sent him to the Hawks was because if he did breakout into a big-time player, at least it would be in the opposite conference where they'd only see him twice per season.
But if Kuminga is to land back in the West, the Timberwolves are probably a more preferable destination than the Lakers from a Warrior perspective. He wouldn't be in the same division, and the media attention that comes with the Lakers would ensure the Warriors would be criticized heavily if he started playing strongly and led winning alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler.
There's still something to play out as we draw nearly two months into free agency, but it's looking more likely that a move to Minnesota could be on the cards for Golden State's former seventh overall pick.
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