By admin 
The Jonathan Kuminga saga continues, seemingly with no end in sight.
Kuminga just found a new home with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but his agent, Aaron Turner, is already looking ahead to the possibility of another move next summer.
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All this drama has become somewhat exhausting in Sacramento, where the Kings have been linked to Kuminga for well over a year. Now, Turner is specifically mentioning Sacramento again as a potential landing spot for Kuminga in the summer of 2027.
“I would say on paper, next year for Jonathan Kuminga is a way better free-agency year for him,” Turner said on “Run it Back,” an NBA-focused talk show on FanDuel TV.
“There are a lot of teams with money, and if you have paid attention to JK’s recruiting saga over the last few years, those teams that have been trying to sign and trade for him — Sacramento and Chicago — these teams have a lot of money next year. I‘m not saying that we’ll necessarily — you know, who knows — but the game board is set very, very well for JK for 2027.”
If Kings general manager Scott Perry still wants to play this game next summer, Sacramento could be in an excellent position to sign Kuminga, a 23-year-old forward with enormous upside. With Zach LaVine’s $49 million salary and De’Andre Hunter’s $24.9 million salary set to come off the books, the Kings are one of nine teams that could have significant salary cap space based on current projections.
The Kings had a summer romance with Kuminga a year ago after he turned down a three-year, $75 million contract with the Golden State Warriors, the team that selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA draft. The Kings were willing to give Kuminga a similar contract in a sign-and-trade deal, but they couldn’t reach an agreement with the Warriors.
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In the end, Kuminga returned to the Warriors on a two-year, $48.5 million deal with a team option in the second year. Kuminga was later traded to the Atlanta Hawks, who declined to pick up his option for the 2026-27 season, which made him an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Kuminga reportedly turned down a three-year, $36 million offer from the Los Angeles Lakers before going to Minnesota on a two-year, $12.4 million contract with a player option in the second year. Kuminga will likely opt out of the second year to seek more money, meaning he will almost certainly become an unrestricted free agent again next summer.
Turner and Kuminga keep picking the shortest path to the possibility of a massive payday. That’s one way to play the game, but so far they’ve only succeeded in diminishing Kuminga’s career earnings.
Kuminga has averaged 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 50.2% from the field and 33.2% from 3-point range over his first five seasons in the NBA. He put up a career-high 16.1 points per game for Golden State in 2023-24 before his relationship with the Warriors soured over the last two seasons.
Kuminga is still a promising young wing at 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan, elite athleticism and explosive speed. Kuminga could be an ideal fit for the rebuilding Kings if he improves his perimeter shooting and proves he can be an effective, versatile defender, but that will depend on how he plays the game on the floor.
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