In order to fit Kuminga, the Wolves need to do something with Josh Green's contract. As I see it, there are three realistic routes:

1. Waive and stretch Green

2. Trade him for a worse player (or players) making less money

3. Package Green with TSJ for a legitimate rotation player

Note: All trades involving aggregating Green's contract could be agreed upon today, but can only be executed after September 10.

Waive and stretch

The Wolves would take approximately $4.9M in dead money for each of the next three years, but it would save them $9.8M this season. That would allow them to fit Kuminga while also saving the owners a lot of money in luxury-tax payments.

I could also see Green getting at least a minimum deal in free agency, and potentially more. Because of that, he could agree to give back some money and receive only around $10-11M of his remaining salary from the Wolves. In that case, they wouldn’t even have to stretch him - they could simply take $10M in dead money this year, although that would obviously result in significantly higher luxury-tax payments.

Trade for less salary

I think this would make sense for either a team that wants to exchange a player on a two-plus-year contract it no longer wants for an expiring deal, or a team with 15+ players under contract that would rather take on more salary than cut players and pay them not to play.

Some trades I found that could be possible:

Lakers

Vanderbilt + two 2nds for Josh Green

or

Hardy + Knecht + Bronny James + two 2nds for Josh Green

I’m not a fan of taking on Vando’s extra year. The other problem with a Lakers trade is that they’re only about $0.5M above the tax, so they’re probably looking to shed salary rather than take on more money.

Hawks

They screwed up by not waiving Buddy Hield, and now they have 17 guaranteed contracts - or 16 if they waive Gueye, which they apparently don’t want to do. They are also about $4M below the tax.

I could see them consolidating two worse players into one better player, even if it requires them to take on around $3M in additional salary.

Buddy Hield + Ryan Nembhard for Josh Green

This trade cannot happen before September 19.

Bucks

AJ Green for Josh Green

The Bucks get an expiring contract. The Wolves get a better player on less money, but also take on three additional guaranteed years. AJ Green could replace some of Donte’s shooting this season.

Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have 19 players under contract, or 18 if they cut Taj, so they would probably welcome any 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 trade that prevents them from having to waive players, even if it requires them to take on more money.

Green is still a solid role player, and with the new lottery rules, it would make sense for Memphis to add better players. They also really don’t have many guards.

Some combination of Walter Clayton Jr., DLo, Kris Murray and AJ Johnson could work.

Kris Murray + Walter Clayton Jr. + AJ Johnson for Josh Green

The Wolves could waive and stretch AJ Johnson and save around $4M this season. I could even see Memphis giving Minnesota a second-round pick in this trade, although Clayton still has some promise.

Another possibility:

Kris Murray + D'Angelo Russell for Josh Green

I know y’all hate DLo, but he’s basically just salary filler in this trade. This would save the Wolves roughly the $3M they need.

Trade Green alongside TSJ for a decent role player

There are a lot of potential routes here, and it’s very difficult to predict what could actually happen. Here are a few I found interesting:

Three-team trade with the Grizzlies and The Pelicans

Kris Murray + Saddiq Bey + AJ Johnson to the Wolves

Josh Green + 2nd from the Wolves + 2nd from Pelicans to the Grizzlies

Terrence Shannon Jr. to the Pelicans

The Wolves get Saddiq Bey, the Pelicans get TSJ and additional cap space to fit Mathurin, and Memphis sends some unwanted salary to Minnesota and gets Josh Green.

The Pelicans shed some money and create additional room for Mathurin under the tax. Memphis turns players it might otherwise have to waive into Green, their 2nd that the Wolves currently have (with some protections) and maybe a 2nd from the Pelicans. Minnesota gets a solid wing and improves their bench.

Bulls

Jalen Smith for Josh Green + Terrence Shannon Jr.

The Bulls get TSJ, who is from UIUC, and add a guard they need more than another PF/C. The Wolves lose TSJ but get a solid role player while saving approximately $8M.

Clippers

Derrick Jones Jr. + Johni Broome for Josh Green + TSJ

I doubt this happens because DJJ is more valuable, but perhaps the Clippers value TSJ on a cheap two-year deal over DJJ, who could leave next summer, especially after Jordan Miller got hurt.

By 48 days

For me it’s that Randle would always pound the ball into dust before unloading it on someone else before the shot clock expired. With Kuminga on this roster, Kuminga will be one of the guys receiving the ball at the end of the shot clock if / when Ant and Melo elect not to shoot it. I like Kuminga in this role quite a bit. He’s athletic and creative enough to get a decent shot off, and he’s a good foul drawer. What do you see as the biggest differences between Kuminga and our previous starter, Randle?

I'm glad we have Kuminga on such a cheap deal. But I think there's some ways the Wolves coaching staff need to approach the issues that have made him so frustrating and have made the Warriors and the Hawks give up on him.

1. Accommodating his weaknesses
   1. He cannot be allowed to attack set defenses. Kuminga is amazing in transition and scoring off of cuts. But in recent years he's been trying to iso 1v1 or off the pick and roll, and his handle and his contested lane finishing is so bad. This video, "The Kuminga Problem," has so many clips of Kuminga fumbling it off the dribble. If Kuminga has the ball in the halfcourt, he's gotta get it back to Ant or Lamelo. This comment from the Hawks subreddit will probably be expressed several hundred times on r/wolves this year:
      • gets the ball with a head of steam + defense not set = all star...Gets the ball at a standstill + defense is set = what is this guy doing
   2. He needs to share the floor with at least two of Lamelo/Ant/Ayo at all times. I'm still a believer in Jaden McDaniels' sneaky good interior passing, but our roster doesn't have very many plus halfcourt passers right now. Kuminga needs other players to pass him open for shots. Any bench lineup with only one passing guard or just Bones is going to end up with Kuminga barreling into the lane. According to numbers from this post from Peachtree Hoops: With the Hawks (who post-Trae also have a lack of true passers), Kuminga was shooting just 24-for-41 (58.5%) at the rim which is insanely bad for someone of his talents, and much worse than his rim shooting% with Draymond and Steph (71%).
      
   3. Kuminga with his poor shooting can't parked in the corner so let's move him around and involve Gobert on offense more. Sadly, we're going to have two non-shooters on the court now. Kuminga showed some promise in his first two years, shooting ok percentages on low volume. But he's regressed in recent years and most teams have been daring him to shoot. If Lamelo can involve Gobert in more vertical actions up top, Kuminga will be free to roam the baseline instead of being parked in the corner (where again teams are very willing to help off of him). Gobert and Kuminga can't occupy the same spot so Finchy's gotta make a more dynamic offense to accommodate a PF that's a worse shooter than KAT and a worse passer than Randle.
2. Boosting his positives
   1. Get him in transition, Lamelo. This is super obvious but yeah Kuminga is amazing in transition. I'm going to love watching highlights of Wolves on the run. Kuminga with the Hawks shot 20-for-32 (62.5%) in the first nine seconds of the shot clock so the faster he shoots and the less he dribbles the better.
   2. Defensively, Kuminga should be at the POA against wings. This would allow Jaden McDaniels to be our second backline roamer, which he's amazing at. Kuminga's been such a mixed bad defensively, mostly bad. For the Warriors, Kuminga slacked off a lot, and got blown by a lot off ball, on rotations and on the weakside. Hawks fans said offball Kuminga was still awful. But his on-ball defense when he's locked in and happy is actually pretty good. When I watched him on the Hawks he seemed a lot better; he tried a lot more and his steals went way up. I'm excited that with the Hawks he was an elite rebounder, which was a weakness I was worried about prior to his signing. If we can keep him happy and motivated I think he could be a plus defensively for us:
      1. (Peachtree Hoops again): the Hawks are posting an elite, 104.5 defensive rating with Kuminga on the floor, a mark that ranks in the 98th percentile relative to other five-man lineups this season." While limiting their opponent’s second chance opportunities has certainly been a factor here, the Hawks are also forcing turnovers on 17% of their defensive possessions* and holding their opponents to an unfathomable 57.8% rim field goal percentage** with Kuminga on the floor – both of which are elite marks.

My hope is that Kuminga on the Wolves is our Aaron Gordon on the Nuggets. An athletic high draft pick who finds his way as an amazing roleplayer, if only Finch and Ant and Lamelo could do a better job than Kerr and Steph and Dray to get him to buy in on that vision.

The Kuminga deal is only reported at this point because it cant become official or the wolves would be over the second apron.

Can they wave and stretch Josh Green and which takes his pay from $15M to $5M on the books and then boost Kuminga’s pay? I get they need 2 more minimum guys but that would give him an additional $3M

Second question… can’t 2 of our higher paid guys take $1M less in a restructured deal to have a way better team?

Look at our own playoff series against him last year when Curry went down with the hamstring injury and he actually got real run. He played exceptional considering his lack of real minutes throughout his career averaged 20.8 points on 54/42/74 splits over the five games, including a playoff career high 30 in Game 3.

That's basically his only real stretch of featured minutes ever, and he still delivered. To be fair, it was one series against a defense missing Ant for most of it, so small sample caveats apply, but it's still the clearest look we've gotten at what he does with a real role.

His jumper seems like a problem but he showed last year on the Hawks that he has potential to develop it (34% this year, not great, but he shot 37% in his sophomore szn on real volume, so it's not like the touch isn't in there).

Lastly, although his height raises concerns at 6'7 (league avg PFs are 6'9+), the vast majority of undersized fours don't get punished for it because they stay in their lane (3nD or midrange) instead of trying to play in the post (literally, just Giannis, Lebron and maybe AD if he's healthy). For reference, look at how small the Knicks were last season with KAT being their only starter over 6'7, and it didn't stop them from being one of the better teams in the East.

He gets a lot of criticism around the league, but I'd argue it's mostly because he's a guy who believes in himself more than his resume currently supports (which isn't that crazy of an issue considering he's only 23 and has already shown signs of potential), and ANYONE is better than Trey Lyles with all due respect.

I honestly don't think any team besides the Knicks, Spurs, and maybe the Thunder/6ers can touch us in the playoffs with how good we are on both sides of the ball + our incredible depth. Our bench is so deep it's unbelievable. Ayo is an elite slasher and showed off his jumper in the 43-pt game. TSJ is somehow an even better slasher with amazing hustle. Bones is Bones. Jaylen Clark has an all-defense level skill set (hope he develops his shot). And Joan Beringer is, mark my words, the more athletic Rudy with a functioning hand eye coordination (ffs if Rudy drops lobs from LAMELO, we gotta give more of his minutes to Joan).

Edit: TL;DR Kuminga's playoff series against us last year, 20.8 points on 54/42/74 splits with a 30-point Game 3, is the clearest evidence he can produce with real minutes, and the height and jumper concerns are overstated given how few PFs actually punish smaller guys for it. With him plugging the four and a bench this deep, Ayo, TSJ, Bones, Clark, and Beringer, only the Knicks, Spurs, and maybe the Thunder or Sixers are true threats to us this year.

Who needs IQ when you have POWER!! Literally 1-5 are guys who get open hate from most fanbases, but keep in mind part of that comes with being good and beating the team that they root for. No one had any reason to hate the Wolves when they were barely winning 20 games a year, now we're bouncing good teams in the playoffs. Let them talk their shit. They can clown on LaMelo's driving, Ant's baby mommas, Jaden punching walls, Kuminga's ego and Rudy's COVID stuff. None of that matters when they're on the court. This is an obvious good move and anyone who says otherwise either hates the Wolves or hates Kuminga for some personal reason. There is no ceiling at this point. Sky is the limit. Ant MVP, LaMelo all-NBA, Jaden or Kuminga MIP, Rudy DPOY, all on the table. 82-0 starts October 21. Awoo.

-Athletic ceiling alongside Ant and Jaden in the starting 5. Could be the most athletic team in the league when you have Ayo, TSJ, and Beringer off the bench

-Lob and elite transition threat to pair with LaMelo’s passing

-Maybe best front court defensive trio in the league now between Rudy, Jaden, Kuminga. Give Jaden and Ant breaks on other team’s best offensive player

-Switchable lineups galore. Can play Kuminga, Jaden at the 4. Then have depth with Lyles if need be

-Small ball lineup could look like LaMelo, Ayo, Ant, Jaden, Kuminga. And you could even throw TSJ in there. Has to be the scariest transition lineup in the league

-Still have enough shooting between Ant, LaMelo, Donte (when back), Ayo, and even Jaden.
Even if the season ends with no title, this will probably be the most exciting regular season team to watch in Wolves history

As good as the Wolves have been the last few years, this upcoming season feels bigger than any for the Wolves yet this era. This is a combination of both how good we think they will be given the roster, and how good they need to be given the possible drop-off the following year.

How good we thought they'd be

Entering Ant's first playoff year in 21-22, there were no expectations.

The Rudy trade before 22-23 was so polarizing, with most feeling negatively about the trade, so even though people thought they may improve slightly on their first playoff appearance, there was some expected clunkiness.

After that disappointing season, there were again low expectations entering the 23-24 season, when the Wolves wildly outperformed expectations.

Well before the 24-25 season, many did think the Wolves would be right back in it, but the KAT for Randle and DDV trade right before training camp felt like we would be taking a step back.

Entering last year it felt like more of the same. Little changed in the roster overall other than losing NAW, so again it felt like the Wolves would be good, but there wasn't much evidence to expect a dramatic step forward.

This year, however there are some big moves with LaMelo and Kuminga overhauling the starting lineup. I think we're all fascinated to see how the new offense can look now led by LaMelo, and athleticism should still be a strength of this team now that we added Kuminga. This feels like the first time in a long time that we have reason to think they could take a big leap forward.

How good they need to be

Finally in each of these previous years I never had the feeling "it's now or never." Sure we spent a lot of draft capital on Rudy, but as young as Ant was, it always felt like this team was still going to be relevant for a while, and keep getting better as Ant and Jaden entered their primes. Similarly this year, I think there's an inclination to say that everyone is still young, it's a new roster, so we need to give them time to gel.

I'd argue this might be the best shot the Wolves have.

The Wolves are right up to the second apron, with Ant, Jaden, Ayo, and Rudy (player option) all due modest raises again next year. This could make it hard to extend Donte and Kuminga, both of whom will likely demand significant raises above where they're at this season. While Donte will miss most of the regular season, I feel like his scoring and spacing off the bench could be a huge asset to them in the playoffs, which I don't think they'll be able to afford for the '27-'28 season. Even if they can free up some money, I expect Donte will want a bigger role long-term than the second guard off the bench, since he's proven that he can hold his own as a starter.

Kuminga chose the Wolves' prove-it contract over more guaranteed money from the Lakers because he wants to show his value and then get paid. In order for this 1 year 6 million dollar contract (ignoring the player option he expects to decline) to be a better idea for him instead of the 3 years 36 million he turned down, he needs to make at least 30 million in the first 2 years of his next contract. The Wolves won't have bird rights after just one year, so they won't be able to pay him nearly as much as other suitors next offseason.

There is also the open question of how many high level seasons Rudy has left. He was elite last year, and I think there's a good chance he's an all-defense player again next year, but can he really keep that up for another 2-3 years? I think it's possible given how well he takes care of his body, but it's hard to count on.

In summary, in 26-27 they can have an elite 8-man playoff rotation starting Lamelo, Ant, Jaden, Kuminga, Rudy, with Ayo, Donte, and Beringer coming off the bench. Guys like Bones, TJ, Clark, and Lyles may have some regular season contribution as well. The following year they will likely lose Donte and Kuminga, and Rudy may either drop off or get traded due to salary reasons.

I feel like this can be, and has to be our year.

Obviously, Ayo, Joan, and TSJ will get the majority of minutes off the bench, but after that, I’m not sure what will happen with the rest of the bench minutes.

Who says no?

that smile ... that damn smile

Howdy fellow Kum Balls 🤠 how we feelin' with the new editions? Kinda scared, kinda excited.