The Minnesota Timberwolves officially announced the signing of Jonathan Kuminga on Friday, with the former Golden State Warriors forward also saving his new team from a gamble on three-time All-Star Ben Simmons.
Simmons has agreed to a one-year, minimum contract with the Sacramento Kings, having generated interest from the Timberwolves, Warriors and NBA champion New York Knicks according to multiple reports.
Jonathan Kuminga saved Timberwolves from Ben Simmons gamble
After trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid at the start of the offseason, the Timberwolves were left with an obvious hole to fill at power forward. They joined the Warriors in pursuit of 41-year-old superstar LeBron James, but lost out to the Philadelphia 76ers.
As much as Kuminga comes with risk and especially given he's bound for a starting role, the former Warrior was clearly the best option for Minnesota in a thinning free agency market toward the end of August.
The Timberwolves' interest in Simmons, as reported by ESPN's Marc J. Spears, may have been a backup plan had Kuminga decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers or another team rather than sign a two-year, $12.4 million contract in Minnesota.
Signing Simmons would have been far riskier for the Timberwolves than their eventual acquisition of Kuminga. The former number one overall pick sat out the entirety of last season, and really hasn't been a productive or good NBA player in the past five seasons where he's only only appeared in 108 combined games.
Minnesota needed to find a starting-calibre forward option. The jury is still out on whether Kuminga is the answer to their prayers in that regard, but Simmons certainly wasn't going to be for a team looking to push into championship contention.
Ben Simmons would have been a worthy gamble for Warriors
Golden State's interest in Simmons was far more understable given their circumstances. They didn't have a starting spot to fill even with Jimmy Butler's torn ACL injury, with Draymond Green returning to the team in free agency and Yaxel Lendeborg a potential starter after being drafted 11th overall at June's NBA Draft.
There's also far less expectation on the Warriors compared to the Timberwolves entering the season. Given their offseason moves would suggest they're comfortable with a gap year, Simmons was the kind of player Golden State could afford to take a risk on with little downside as one of the final pieces to the roster.
It's all a moot point now after the Kings offered Simmons a guaranteed contract, while the Warriors were only willing to offer a training camp invite after recently signing Brandon Williams, Georges Niang and Dalen Terry.
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