Anthony Edwards Redefines Minnesota’s Pitch for Jonathan Kuminga

The NBA expected Hollywood. Jonathan Kuminga chose the cold.

In late August, the 2022 NBA champion stunned plenty of people around the league by signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, walking away from a strong push by the Los Angeles Lakers, who had circled him as their starting forward of the future. On paper, the Lakers’ offer made all the sense in the world. The final decision did not. That’s where Anthony Edwards stepped in.

Edwards’ Simple, Powerful Pitch

Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, pulled back the curtain in an interview with Kevin O’Connor. There was no elaborate presentation, no slick deck, no Hollywood gloss.

It was Ant.

“Ant was a massive part of this whole thing,” Turner said. The message from Edwards to Kuminga was as blunt as it was persuasive: come be the version of yourself that terrified us in the playoffs.

“The pitch was, ‘Hey JK, we want you to come here and be the guy that we had to play against in the playoffs. Like, we want that dude. Like, we’re not asking you to go be something else. We’re asking you to be yourself.’”

That line cut through every concern about fit, role, and system. Minnesota didn’t promise reinvention. It promised freedom.

Critics quickly pointed to the Timberwolves’ structure and asked how Kuminga would “adapt” to a team that already leans heavily on Edwards and a defined defensive identity. Turner pushed back hard on that idea.

“But this whole thing of like, oh, he has to adapt. No,” he said on the podcast. To Turner, the key was Edwards’ mindset. “Ant, who is as unselfish of a star as you could imagine and super secure with who he is, his whole thing was, look, ‘I want you to come here, and I want you to do everything you do and do it loudly. I feel where you’re coming from. I can understand what you’ve dealt with through these parts of your career, and I want you to come in here and be Jonathan Kuminga.’”

That is not the language of a star protecting his turf. That is a franchise player opening the door and clearing space.

The Money Question

The contract details only deepened the intrigue.

Kuminga signed a two-year deal in Minnesota worth $12.4 million. For a 22-year-old NBA champion with starter upside, that number raised eyebrows, especially after reports that the Lakers had put a three-year, roughly $36 million offer on the table.

On FanDuel’s “Run it Back,” Turner admitted he struggled to understand Los Angeles’ valuation.

He couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that the Lakers wanted to lock in a starting-caliber piece at about $12 million per year, a figure he described as “pretty decently below the midlevel.”

Then came the twist: Kuminga ultimately agreed to an even lower annual figure with the Timberwolves.

The contradiction sparked obvious questions. Why walk away from more money and a marquee market to take a shorter, cheaper deal in Minnesota?

The answer, at least in part, sits with Edwards’ influence and the environment the Timberwolves sold. A clear role. A star who wants him to “do it loudly.” A team that sees him as the same problem he once posed as an opponent.

LaMelo, Kuminga, and a New Wolves Identity

Kuminga’s arrival didn’t come in isolation. Minnesota had already made its splash by bringing in LaMelo Ball, a move that signaled a shift in how the franchise wants to play around Edwards.

LaMelo joins as a dynamic playmaker and offensive engine to pair with Ant on the perimeter. Kuminga, the athletic, attacking forward, slots in as the third aggressive scorer in that mix. The Congolese forward’s two-year, $12.4 million deal, when placed alongside Ball’s arrival, paints a picture of a franchise trying to build a young, explosive core around its centerpiece rather than just patching around the edges.

The fit on paper is obvious: LaMelo creates, Edwards detonates, Kuminga attacks gaps and defends across multiple positions. For a team that has often leaned on its size and defense, this is a bolder, more offensive-minded version of the Wolves.

Keeping the Franchise Star All-In

Underneath all of this sits the most important subplot: Anthony Edwards’ future.

Six years into his Minnesota tenure, Edwards still has three seasons left on his five-year deal that runs through 2029. There is no immediate contract drama, no looming free agency saga. But in today’s NBA, the clock on a star’s satisfaction starts ticking long before the ink runs dry on the final year.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Minnesota’s front office has hit the right notes with its franchise player.

“Ant is very pleased with the Wolves’ offseason,” Windhorst said on his show. “Going to get LaMelo (Ball), making this deal happen for (Jonathan) Kuminga. If (Edwards’) extension was now, maybe he would be excited about this enough to sign it; maybe he thinks that LaMelo is going to be a perfect fit.”

That’s the real win for Minnesota. Not just landing Kuminga on a team-friendly deal. Not just prying LaMelo loose. But aligning every move with what keeps Edwards energized, empowered, and convinced that the Timberwolves are serious about contending.

Teams around the league know the rule: keep your star happy or start planning for life without him. Minnesota, long a cautionary tale in that department, is trying to write a different story.

If this new core of Edwards, Ball, and Kuminga grows into a contender and breaks through for a title in the next few years, the question around 2029 may not be whether Ant leaves.

It may be how long he wants to keep this version of the Timberwolves together.