The point is his 3-point shot isn't good enough to be respected by opposing defenses, i.e. they will gladly give up that shot in order to close off the paint. If he were paired with a floor spacing big that could shoot, like Chet or Wemby or Myles Turner then it's not as problematic. But with a total non-shooter like Rudy in the middle, defenses now have two guys they don't have to worry about from beyond the arc.
Regardless of JK's TS%, what matters even more is how he impacts team offense. Just like Rudy is super efficient in terms of TS% (8th in the NBA last year), we all know that our offense is better when he's on the bench.
The key to JK starring in his role is to basically be a better version of Jared Vanderbilt circa '21-22 when he started for the Wolves. That would require a complete re-wiring of his mentality. May be some of that re-wiring started happening in Atlanta (??). We can only hope.
It's worth noting that Kuminga is a way more skilled offensive player than Vanderbilt. The reality is the thing holding Vanderbilt from being at the very least a super valuable role player if not a starter is he can't stay healthy. Kuminga has had some issues staying healthy too but not as bad as Vanderbilt.
He is for sure more talented than Vanderbilt, but from a mentality perspective he needs to be closer to Jared Vanderbilt than whatever he fashioned himself previously up to this point in his career. Defense, rebounding, hustle, running, etc.
I completely agree that those things you cite are the most important things we need from JK this season for him to be successful. I also agree with Monster that he has much more offensive potential than Vando. My biggest concern though is how he approaches the season. The fact that he turned down the more lucrative deal from the Lakers tells us he is betting on himself to get a more lucrative deal after a successful season with us. But I hope he buys into the notion that doing all the things Q mentions along with playing within himself on offense (i.e. taking the open shot, but not forcing anything) is his ticket to something like a 4/80 deal in a year. My concern is that he might think PPG is the ticket to a big contract. The only way we were able to acquire a talent like JK for such a cheap price is that his reputation around the league is not very good right now...2 coaches giving up on him so early in his career is not a favorable situation for him. I'm hoping his agent (ha, maybe a new one), Finchy and his teammates are able to convince him of how he needs to play to get his bag.
And by the way, I'm not concerned about him letting it fly if he is open outside the arc...and I'm guessing Finchy isn't either. 3-pointers are the equivalent of a blackjack in Vegas...it's worth 1 1/2 times a 2-point shot. So a 33% 3-point shooter is as effective as a 50% 2-point shooter. And there's a good chance that JK will shoot better than his career average with Ant's gravity and Ball's ability to get him open looks (Ball's teammates' 3-point percentage was almost 4 percentage points better when Ball was on the court!). Q is correct that opponents will likely prefer leaving JK open rather than better shooters like Ant, Ball, Jaden and Ayo. But I think he will burn them if they don't guard him.
Q-is-here wrote: ↑Tue Sep 01, 2026 7:42 am
Kuminga's agent, who has come under fire, going on O'Connor's pod and explaining his actions in representing his client. Not sure if he helped or hurt his cause, as while he made some good points, he also seemed a bit defensive.
Some decent nuggets of info here as it relates to the Wolves.
Yeah, I saw that interview last night. And I agree, it's not clear if he helped or hurt his cause!
I will say there have been an unfortunate set of circumstances that have really made Kuminga's situation a clusterf*ck. His desire for the "big payday" even though it's not justified by his play is a problem. He and his game are still immature -- he's not even in his prime years, yet, but he is getting closer. His physical attributes are really promising Being in the right situation could do wonders for his production, which we hope is the case in Minnesota. In addition to his own problems, he has not been in an environment that is conducive to his development. Kerr decided his skillset was not a good mesh with the rest of their frontcourt (especially with General Soreness). And Atlanta already had their "core" in place. I believe it was a mutual decision between Atlanta and JK that he was not going to bump out any of the existing core.
Before this interview, his agent implied Minnesota was a one-and-done situation as Kuminga looked for his big payday elsewhere. But now he has backtracked and said hopefully the payday is with Minnesota. But realistically, the best case scenario for the Wolves is JK loving the situation so much that he is willing to take a 2-year MLE with a player option on the 3rd year, at which time he can sign a new extension using full Bird Rights.
I suspect we will be looking for a new starting PF next offseason, but that doesn't mean the one year of JK won't be a big hit!
I agree with you, Tim...I'm almost certain we will be looking for a new starting PF next season for one of two reasons: Either the JK experiment doesn't work because he still thinks he is a star and tries to score every time he touches the ball, or he flourishes with his athleticism and a more mature attitude and he earns offers the Wolves are unable or unwilling to match. But like you, I think this season is going to be fun to watch.
Q-is-here wrote: ↑Tue Sep 01, 2026 7:42 am
Kuminga's agent, who has come under fire, going on O'Connor's pod and explaining his actions in representing his client. Not sure if he helped or hurt his cause, as while he made some good points, he also seemed a bit defensive.
Some decent nuggets of info here as it relates to the Wolves.
Yeah, I saw that interview last night. And I agree, it's not clear if he helped or hurt his cause!
I will say there have been an unfortunate set of circumstances that have really made Kuminga's situation a clusterf*ck. His desire for the "big payday" even though it's not justified by his play is a problem. He and his game are still immature -- he's not even in his prime years, yet, but he is getting closer. His physical attributes are really promising Being in the right situation could do wonders for his production, which we hope is the case in Minnesota. In addition to his own problems, he has not been in an environment that is conducive to his development. Kerr decided his skillset was not a good mesh with the rest of their frontcourt (especially with General Soreness). And Atlanta already had their "core" in place. I believe it was a mutual decision between Atlanta and JK that he was not going to bump out any of the existing core.
Before this interview, his agent implied Minnesota was a one-and-done situation as Kuminga looked for his big payday elsewhere. But now he has backtracked and said hopefully the payday is with Minnesota. But realistically, the best case scenario for the Wolves is JK loving the situation so much that he is willing to take a 2-year MLE with a player option on the 3rd year, at which time he can sign a new extension using full Bird Rights.
I suspect we will be looking for a new starting PF next offseason, but that doesn't mean the one year of JK won't be a big hit!
I think it's been interesting to see the last 2 videos he has been on. There are a couple of takeaways.
1. He says what they did and didn't get offered and did and didn't agree too. What he laid out even more so in what was offered and what they wanted didn't want does actually check out to me. I didn't follow that situation that closely but yeah. In general why would he lie? That seems like a bad idea considering who he works with negotiating with teams. I looked on Real GM and he has plenty of clients including Minott and 3 other guys that have been part of the Wolves org at some point. Anyway really he gave up one year of guaranteed 25 million but he also didn't really want to be in GS and it didn't seem like they wanted him there either. Deciding to have as much optionality as possible doesn't seem too crazy regardless of the math he did to arrive there.
2. The rant Sam V was pretty epic. I'm not sure that was warranted but it was entertaining.
3. So the question I have is whether all the we are playing for all the right reasons etc etc. well it's put up or shut up for Kuminga. Him picking the Wolves and even the Lakers as his other option seem seems like a positive. Does he want to make more money? Yeah. I would like that too. I like my job and coworkers but if you told me I could do a pretty good job for even double the salary I would be like in yeah that sounds pretty good. Lol I'm not gonna stress about if he plays too well they can't afford him. We have also seen Connelly convince players to stay so maybe he can work his magic on Kuminga.
