Power Forward Free Agent Options - Poll

[Q-is-here]

Heh, the list keeps dwindling!

Kuminga is the most intriguing name here as he is sort of the anti-Lyles/Green "safe" bet kind of forward with a decent floor, but a low ceiling. Kuminga might help you a ton or he might do some stupid things that drive Finch crazy. But at $6M, he'd be the biggest bargain and upside swing on this list.

I love Kuminga’s potential, especially on the offensive end. My problem with Kuminga is his poor defense and inconsistent effort. Is he worth signing at the vet minimum? Probably. You mentioned paying him $6M. My review of our cap situation indicates we can’t pay more than the vet minimum, which for Kuminga would be around $2.84M. So I still think getting Kuminga would require a sign-and-trade likely involving Josh Green. The more I think about it, the more I’d say no to that sort of deal.

Yeah, I'm probably neutral on Kuminga at any price at or below Josh Green and his contract value. I just think he's really intriguing and would add to our arsenal of athletic, switchable guards and forwards. But yeah, there is downside risk as well which sort of balances out my intrigue with him.

[Lipoli390]

Heh, the list keeps dwindling!

Kuminga is the most intriguing name here as he is sort of the anti-Lyles/Green "safe" bet kind of forward with a decent floor, but a low ceiling. Kuminga might help you a ton or he might do some stupid things that drive Finch crazy. But at $6M, he'd be the biggest bargain and upside swing on this list.

I love Kuminga’s potential, especially on the offensive end. My problem with Kuminga is his poor defense and inconsistent effort. Is he worth signing at the vet minimum? Probably. You mentioned paying him $6M. My review of our cap situation indicates we can’t pay more than the vet minimum, which for Kuminga would be around $2.84M. So I still think getting Kuminga would require a sign-and-trade likely involving Josh Green. The more I think about it, the more I’d say no to that sort of deal.

Yeah, I'm probably neutral on Kuminga at any price at or below Josh Green and his contract value. I just think he's really intriguing and would add to our arsenal of athletic, switchable guards and forwards. But yeah, there is downside risk as well which sort of balances out my intrigue with him.

Here’s how I’m looking the prospect of signing Kuminga at the moment. I wouldn’t pursue him for anything more than the $4M and I’d be inclined to use that $4M to sign Kevin Love rather than Kuminga. However, if the Wolves sign Kuminga, even if it means trading Josh Green, I’ll be OK with it because even though TC has made mistakes with picks and acquisitions, he’s never signed or acquired a Wes Johnson or Derrick Williams type with the exception of Wendell Moore. So I’ll put my trust in TC. I’ll add that if we were to acquire Kuminga at $15M in a sign-and-trade for Green, we’d still have $4M left to sign Kevin Love to fill our 14th roster slot. In that scenario, we get the upside bet in Kuminga with Love as our insurance policy. Having said that, I really like Josh Green and would rather keep and sign Love than swap Green for Kuminga.

[AussieWolf3]

I'm perplexed at the idea of Kuminga being the answer to the PF issue. At best it seem like a lateral move, which i guess would help depth?

After digging in on him a little more it seems that he's a better defender than I realized, and to be honest he's bigger than I thought as well--- in the sense that he's true PF size with exceptional strength even for the position. That said, I wouldn't bet that he is a plus defender and if memory serves, he grabs a below average rate of rebounds.

Most concerning however is what he would do for the offense. At this point he has a well established reputation to force bad shot, over dribble and has yet to establish a reliable outside shot in his career. Spacing is so important to run an offense in the league today that I just don't see him being helpful.

At 4 to 6 million it shouldn't hurt, but for most of his career he's been a negative player so the opportunity cost, I.e the expense of other players playing time doesn't seem worth it.

[Lipoli390]

I'm perplexed at the idea of Kuminga being the answer to the PF issue. At best it seem like a lateral move, which i guess would help depth?

After digging in on him a little more it seems that he's a better defender than I realized, and to be honest he's bigger than I thought as well--- in the sense that he's true PF size with exceptional strength even for the position. That said, I wouldn't bet that he is a plus defender and if memory serves, he grabs a below average rate of rebounds.

Most concerning however is what he would do for the offense. At this point he has a well established reputation to force bad shot, over dribble and has yet to establish a reliable outside shot in his career. Spacing is so important to run an offense in the league today that I just don't see him being helpful.

At 4 to 6 million it shouldn't hurt, but for most of his career he's been a negative player so the opportunity cost, I.e the expense of other players playing time doesn't seem worth it.

I see too many red flags in Kuminga’s career so far to feel comfortable adding him to our roster for anything other than the vet minimum as a free agent. But he is certainly talented and athletically gifted. He’s shown the ability to score, although he has yet to show he can stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting, which has been at around 33%. And here’s the defensive case for adding him from AI Gemini:

Jonathan Kuminga is an elite, highly versatile on-ball defender, but he remains an inconsistent and often flawed off-ball defender. Because of this massive disparity, coaches and analysts generally view him as a "conditional" or "tools-based" plus defender rather than an all-around defensive anchor. To evaluate his overall defensive profile, his game can be broken down into his specific strengths, weaknesses, and modern schematic impact.

Where He Excels:

On-Ball Defense. When given a specific individual assignment, Kuminga possesses the physical tools to be an absolute nightmare for opposing scorers.

Elite Physical Profile: At 6’7” and 225 lbs with an explosive vertical, he has the rare combination of strength to not get bullied by power forwards and quick feet to stay in front of guards.Perimeter Hounding: Film analysis frequently highlights his ability to lock down elite perimeter players—ranging from guards like Derrick White to primary wings like Jayson Tatum—smothering their space and utilizing an elite closeout rate to alter shots.

Positional Switchability: Advanced metrics frequently categorize him as a "Versatile Stopper". He can legitimately switch positions 1 through 4 in modern NBA defensive schemes without creating a mismatch.

Where He Struggles:

Off-Ball Awareness. His primary limitations are entirely mental and occur when he is positioned away from the primary action.

Disengagement: Kuminga frequently suffers from lapses in off-ball focus. He is prone to "ball-watching," which leads to late rotations, lost cutters, and leaving perimeter shooters open for uncontested three-pointers.Biting on Fakes: His hyper-athleticism can sometimes be weaponized against him; he remains undisciplined against veteran pump-fakes and change-of-pace moves, leading to avoidable fouls or completely giving up his positioning.

Real-World Scheme Impact. His defensive utility shifts depending on the team environment. During his time with the Golden State Warriors, his lapses in off-ball processing clashed heavily with Steve Kerr's highly complex help-and-recover defensive system. However, following his mid-season trade to the Atlanta Hawks, he found immense success as a situational defender. In their physical 2026 playoff series against the New York Knicks, the Hawks utilized him as a defensive disruptor. His presence on the floor directly correlated with forcing more turnovers, choking off interior passing lanes, and holding opponents to poorer shooting percentages.

I guess we have to trust TC and his team of front office execs, scouts and coaches to accurately assess Kuminga’s red flags.

[Monster]

It seems like from an article by Ira Winderman Keshad Johnson is still hanging around Miami. From what I read it seems like the Heat are probably hoping to sign him to a 2-way deal. I guess we would have to give him an NBA deal to get him away but I would think it would need to be fully guaranteed and that seems a bit unlikely. Lip I would be interested to hear more about why you put him on the list. I watched a few highlights and looked at some stats.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Kelly Olynyk has bounced around A LOT in recent years.

For what it's worth... he's never had a negative VORP in his entire career.

The last time he got real playing time (bad NOP team in 2025) he averaged 11 points / 6 reb / 4 ast / 50% fg / 60% TS in only 25 minutes.


[Note: Love also hasn't had a negative VORP... but I feel like he's washed... and rewashed at this point.]

[Lipoli390]

It seems like from an article by Ira Winderman Keshad Johnson is still hanging around Miami. From what I read it seems like the Heat are probably hoping to sign him to a 2-way deal. I guess we would have to give him an NBA deal to get him away but I would think it would need to be fully guaranteed and that seems a bit unlikely. Lip I would be interested to hear more about why you put him on the list. I watched a few highlights and looked at some stats.

Two things got my attention. First, his 42” vertical at the draft combine and you know how much I like impressive draft combine numbers. . Second, his G-League stats. Last season in 8 games he averaged 8.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2 blocks per game. He hit nearly 50% of his 6 three point attempts. His G-League stats the previous year were not as impressive in the shooting department, but he had over 8 rebounds per game that season as well. I’ve also watched some video highlights of him and liked what I saw. I didn’t vote for him, but I’d be intrigued if we signed him.

[Lipoli390]

Kelly Olynyk has bounced around A LOT in recent years.

For what it's worth... he's never had a negative VORP in his entire career.

The last time he got real playing time (bad NOP team in 2025) he averaged 11 points / 6 reb / 4 ast / 50% fg / 60% TS in only 25 minutes.


[Note: Love also hasn't had a negative VORP... but I feel like he's washed... and rewashed at this point.]

Hmm. Interesting stat I hadn’t seen. I don’t think Love or Olynyk has much left in his tank. I like Love’s physical strength boxing out and defending some of the big PF bodies inside. Neither one would be a needle-mover but either could probably provide some quality spot minutes and help the team.

[Monster]

I haven't seen that he has played anywhere for at least a year but what's Christian Wood up to?

[Phenom]

Training camp is 5 or 6 weeks away, I'm guessing. I'm wondering at what point Kuminga would decide to take a 1 year deal.

I've seen that he is not considering a minimum but I'm wondering if he reconsiders depending upon what other teams are making above minimum offers and how much more they offer.

Sign and trades will be complicated since Atlanta has 17 or 18 guys under contract already. They probably aren't eager to take on Vanderbilt or Strus and have to deal with another guaranteed contract. There will need to be a 3rd team with a trade exception to take on one of thos guys most likely, to get Kuminga a semblance of what he wants. Do the Lakers, Cavs or some other team want to trade draft capital to dump a guy to have the ability to pay Kuminga a fat salary? Maybe. Seems like if that were the case it would have happened by now.

I wonder how long Kuminga is willing to wait it out before determining that taking a minimum in Minnesota is the best option.