It's been over two weeks since Jonathan Kuminga - the electric young forward who spent last season with both the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks - agreed to a two-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, concluding one of the summer's lengthiest sagas.
Now that the dust has settled, all controversy regarding his exit is in the past.
Or is it?
Introductory press conferences are standard for highly-discussed signings across the league, and sometimes, they provide fans with quotes that make them wonder if a previous situation is truly resolved.
After Kuminga's introduction to the Timberwolves on Thursday, a fair share of conversation regarding his prior tenures arose.
A comment about winning has led people to believe he was shading the Hawks
It's funny to watch things get blown out of proportion, as they typically do when the subject is Jonathan Kuminga.
The most fascinating part of his press conference was finding out the why. Why the Timberwolves over every other suitor? While the number of candidates decreased the longer the saga went on, there were still a few teams with serious aspirations interested in bringing him on.
For the 23-year-old, it came down to culture:
"I think I fit well with this culture … I think the choice was about trying to win, trying to help them win, and that’s why I made this decision.”
He later doubled-down, noting he "wanted to go to a winning culture," and that Minnesota was "one of the best winning cultures" of all the options.
People immediately assuming he was dissing the Hawks makes some sense, until the realization hits that the Hawks, especially at that point in the offseason, were no longer one of those "options."
Sure, Atlanta had some interest in bringing him back when they declined his $24.3 million team option for the 2026-27 season, but as soon as they acquired both Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort, any hope of a reunion was lost.
He wasn't wrong to admit Minnesota had the best winning culture of the remaining suitors
It's no secret that the Timberwolves have never won a championship in their franchise's history, but a look at recent postseason success clearly alludes to them being Kuminga's best chance at winning a championship in the near future.
Led by Anthony Edwards, they made the Western Conference Finals in both 2024 and 2025. A return this upcoming season isn't out of the picture.
While the Lakers or Cavaliers - the two other realistic suitors for Kuminga before he signed - could get offended by his recent comments, the Hawks certainly have no reason to.
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