{"id":823036,"date":"2026-08-29T01:09:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T01:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/823036\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T01:09:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T01:09:14","slug":"timberwolves-notes-kuminga-divincenzo-stad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/823036\/","title":{"rendered":"Timberwolves Notes: Kuminga, DiVincenzo, Stad"},"content":{"rendered":"

While he acknowledges there are some question marks about Jonathan Kuminga<\/a>\u2018s game (e.g. his outside shot and \u201coverall decision-making\u201d), Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports<\/a> believes signing the free agent forward was a worthwhile gamble for the Timberwolves and thinks the move has a chance to work out well for both sides.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s decision to go all-in on perimeter talent \u2014 trading Julius Randle<\/a> and Naz Reid<\/a> in the process \u2014 left a void at power forward. Iko considers Kuminga a clear upgrade over Randle and Reid defensively, particularly in terms of versatility, and notes that the former No. 7 overall pick is a strong finisher and cutter who\u2019s good at getting to the free throw line.<\/p>\n

Although he\u2019ll almost certainly be asked to play a complementary off-ball role if he starts, Kuminga could also play a higher-usage offensive role when Anthony Edwards<\/a> or LaMelo Ball<\/a> are off the floor, Iko observes. Kuminga has said in the past that he views himself as a future All-Star.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Iko argues that adding Kuminga on a two-year, $12.4MM deal<\/a> with a second-year player option is a \u201clow-cost, potentially high-impact move\u201d for a Minnesota team that aspires to win its first championship in 2026\/27.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more on the Timberwolves:<\/p>\n

The Wolves currently have no intention of trading Donte DiVincenzo<\/a> and are cautiously optimistic he may be able to return to action near the end of the 2026\/27 campaign, ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst reported on the Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link<\/a>). \u201cIn talking to people in Minnesota this week, we were discussing team expectations heading into the season,\u201d Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM<\/a>). \u201cSpecifically around guys coming off torn Achilles. \u2026 The idea that the Timberwolves can count on Dante for significant contributions this year is unrealistic, and I don\u2019t think they are. That said, after covering the NBA for 24 years, you learn how these situations play out: while Minnesota isn\u2019t putting any official expectations or pressure on his timeline, they harbor a quiet hope that he could return before the end of the season and give them something. And to be clear, they have no plans to trade him.\u201d
\nWindhorst\u2019s comments about DiVincenzo are noteworthy because the Wolves are reportedly<\/a> considering going the waive-and-stretch route with Josh Green<\/a>\u2018s $14.68MM expiring contract, which would result in $4.89MM annual cap hits through 2028\/29. Those cap savings would give Minnesota enough room beneath its second-apron hard cap to sign Kuminga using the taxpayer mid-level exception. DiVincenzo will earn $12.35MM in 2026\/27, the final season of his deal.
\nJon Krawczynski of The Athletic<\/a> takes a closer look at new majority owner Marc Stad, who will be buying his shares from Marc Lore. Stad is \u201cprivate by nature\u201d and said in an interview<\/a> with his alma mater, Harvard, that he was the first person in his family to graduate from high school, Krawczynski writes. Stad also said he didn\u2019t have enough money to buy a coat in his first winter in Cambridge, but now his technology-focused investment firm, Dragoneer Investment Group, controls over $35 billion in assets. According to Krawczynski\u2019s sources, while Stad\u2019s wife Elisa will serve as team governor to allow Stad to focus on Dragoneer, he will be \u201cheavily involved\u201d in all of the organization\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While he acknowledges there are some question marks about Jonathan Kuminga\u2018s game (e.g. his outside shot and \u201coverall…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":795361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[7,372,97945,867,97946,307,152,3954,6,308],"class_list":["post-823036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-basketball","tag-donte-divincenzo","tag-elisa-stad","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-marc-stad","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-minnesotatimberwolves","tag-nba","tag-timberwolves"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117176130801770126","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/795361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}