Former Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga surprised many when he left some hefty multi-year contracts on the table to sign a two-year, $13 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The deal was so cheap that many wondered what his representation was trying to achieve here. While Kuminga did take less to join a contender, it's impossible to argue that he maximized his earning potential. Kuminga's agent, Aaron Turner, tried so hard to pump up his client's half-season stint with the Hawks that it spun back around to being absurdly hyperbolic.
In an appearance on Kevin O'Connor's podcast, Turner promoted the fact that Kuminga had the highest net rating on the team, implying that he was perhaps the best player on the team after his arrival.
Kuminga's agent offers wild description of Hawks tenure
Turner went on a long-winded rant in which he claims that he did not cost Kuminga any money despite agreeing to sign a $6.5 million-per-year deal in Minnesota. Essentially, while Kuminga did turn down a three-year, $75 million contract with the Warriors, Turner argued that getting a player option in Minnesota and the ability to possibly sign a second big contract after this season was worth more than raw dollars.
Buried in all the back-and-forth about negotiating is the fact that Kuminga's +12.2 net rating in the regular season and +8.3 rating in the playoffs made him the best player on the team. Putting him over the two offensive engines of the team in Jalen Johnson and CJ McCollum (to say nothing of Nickeil Alexander-Walker) is patently absurd.
Kuminga was not the best player on the 2025-26 Atlanta Hawks
Was Kuminga a solid addition for the Hawks? Yes, that much is not in question. The former Golden State Warriors No. 6 overall pick averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while providing the energy off the bench Atlanta needed. Kuminga played a role in the team's late-season surge and gritty performances against the eventual champion New York Knicks in the playoffs.
However, using net rating to justify Kuminga as the best player on the team is a fallacy, as no one would take him over Johnson. Kuminga is in his fifth year as a pro, and he still has not developed a consistent jumper or the creativity on-ball teams wanted to see from him, which is why his Minnesota deal was as cheap as it was.
While Kuminga will get the chance to compete for a championship with the Wolves, and the Hawks will be without a player who clearly fit in well with what Quin Snyder was trying to do, that came at an immense financial cost to him.
One would think if Kuminga was truly the best player Atlanta had last season, bringing him back would have been an all-hands-on-deck matter.
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