Now that Jonathan Kuminga is officially no longer a Hawk, Atlanta can move forward, and begin to develop the young talent that will surely rise in his stead - right?
Not so fast - as with every media cycle surrounding any move in the NBA, there's two sides to the coin.
While Atlanta may very well be better served giving more minutes to sophomore Asa Newell or rookies Zuby Ejiofor or Henri Veesaar in their frontcourt, don't be surprised if Jonathan Kuminga breaks out once again for his third team of his career, leaving Atlanta an "F" offseason grade for the move.
It's all thanks to one key piece on the Wolves this year - LaMelo Ball, who has already shown he fits beautifully with a player just like Kuminga.
Jonathan Kuminga and Miles Bridges - two players, one playstyle
JK and Miles Bridges are picture-perfect reflections of one another - they both have eye-popping athleticism that seems to appear far more frequently on offense than on defense, they both have semi-reliable abilities to self-create to get downhill, and they both certainly have shaky jumpers that can explode on any given night, just as easily as they can sink the team with an ice-cold evening.
Ball is privy to the archetype - after all, he played with Bridges throughout his entire tenure with the Charlotte Hornets. With Bridges heading out at the same time as Ball (headed to Phoenix), Charlotte certainly has some questions to answer about their rotation, much like Minnesota does.
Unlike Charlotte, however, Minnesota is poised to contend - and Kuminga will very likely be an instrumental part of their gameplan, amplified exponentially by the playmaking of Ball and the gravity of Anthony Edwards.
Kuminga's potential hot start could be a poor look for Atlanta
After a hypothetical hot start with the Wolves, I can already see the headlines berating Onsi Saleh for letting the youngster walk - especially given the impeccably cheap contract that the Wolves were able to steal Kuminga for.
Kuminga fits perfectly with the Wolves' system - a day one starter, any defensive woes will likely be masked by the defensive prowess of Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, and as mentioned already, LaMelo Ball will make his athleticism pop on the offensive end of the floor.
I hope Kuminga achieves all that he's set out to do with the Wolves and more - he was an upstanding member of the Hawks organization during his brief time here, and without JK, Atlanta would very likely have not been able to take the eventual champions in New York to an impressive six games in the first round - I just hope the backlash for letting him walk isn't as significant as I fear.
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