Jonathan Kuminga’s Agent Rips Warriors After Timberwolves Deal: Weirdest Negotiation of All Time
Jonathan Kuminga is a Minnesota Timberwolf, and his agent Aaron Turner has some things he would like to say about how the whole thing played out. On Chandler Parsons’ podcast, Turner did not hold back on the Warriors and specifically on head coach Steve Kerr for how the Kuminga situation was handled publicly.
“Probably the weirdest negotiation of all time,” Turner said. “A Hall of Fame coach comes out and says, ‘This guy, JK, he’s a really good and talented player, but doesn’t fit the roster with Draymond and Jimmy.'”
You cannot really argue with the description. This whole saga was strange from the jump.
The Money Trail
Kuminga signed a two-year, $13 million deal with the Timberwolves with a player option in Year 2. That is a bet on himself. If he plays well next to Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, he opts out and hits free agency again at 25 with a much bigger number attached to his name.
To get there, he turned down a Warriors offer reported at three years and $75 million with a team option in Year 3. That was the real offer. Turner used his podcast appearance to specifically shoot down separate reports of a five-year, $150 million offer that has floated around all summer. “There was never an offer,” Turner said flatly.
The Public Comments Are What Turned It
The heart of Turner’s complaint is not the dollars. It is the way Kerr publicly discussed the fit issue. When your head coach goes on record saying you do not mesh with your two most important teammates, your trade value cratered. Any team that was going to give up assets for Kuminga now has a public reason not to.
That is what Turner is calling weird. From a negotiating standpoint, the Warriors were essentially bidding against themselves and telling the market not to bother. It is a strange approach to keeping a talented young player on your roster or maximizing what you can get for him.
Golden State eventually moved Kuminga to Atlanta as part of the Kristaps Porzingis package, bundled with Buddy Hield. The Hawks turned around and declined Kuminga’s $24.3 million team option in June, sending him to free agency, where he landed in Minnesota on the taxpayer MLE.
Kuminga Lands in a Great Spot
For Kuminga at 23 years old, the fit in Minnesota might be exactly what he needed. He is expected to start next to Edwards and LaMelo Ball. That is a lineup with actual offensive gravity, actual pace, and actual room for Kuminga to attack the rim without four guys clogging his lane.
Golden State was never going to give him that. The Warriors’ style, with the ball movement and the specific spacing they run out of their systems, was always going to leave him fighting for touches inside a hierarchy that was set well before he arrived. In Minnesota he is on a team that will use his athletic advantages.
Warriors Cannot Really Complain
The Warriors let their coach define the story publicly. They then failed to trade Kuminga for a return that would have moved the needle. They ended up with him rerouted through Atlanta and gone for nothing beyond the salary that came back in the Porzingis deal.
Turner is doing what a good agent does. He is telling his client’s story, protecting future negotiations, and reminding everyone in the NBA who was actually at fault for how the last 18 months went. Kuminga is 23. His best years are ahead. Minnesota bet on that. Golden State bet on Draymond and Jimmy. Everyone gets what they wanted.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
