Anthony Edwards Shapes Timberwolves' Offseason with Jonathan Kuminga

The Timberwolves’ summer took a sharp turn the moment Jonathan Kuminga chose Minnesota over Los Angeles.

On paper, it made little sense. The 2022 NBA champion, long linked with the Lakers and a starting forward role in Hollywood, walked away from a richer, longer offer in a glamour market. He landed instead in Minneapolis on a shorter, cheaper deal.

The numbers say “surprise.” The story behind them says “Anthony Edwards.”

Edwards’ pitch: Be the guy we hated playing against

Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, pulled back the curtain in an interview with Kevin O’Connor. There was no elaborate PowerPoint, no heavy-handed sales job from the front office. The most important voice belonged to the Wolves’ franchise star.

“Ant was a massive part of this whole thing,” Turner said.

Edwards’ message to Kuminga was stripped of ego and fluff: come here and be the version of yourself that terrorized us in the playoffs. Not a role player. Not a reshaped piece in a rigid system.

“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 one of the main criticisms of the move: that Kuminga would have to bend and twist his game to fit Minnesota’s structure. Turner pushed back hard on that narrative.

“This whole thing of like, oh, he has to adapt. No,” he said. For Turner, the key was Edwards’ mentality. An All-NBA-level scorer who, in his words, is “as unselfish of a star as you could imagine and super secure with who he is.”

Edwards’ message to Kuminga, as Turner relayed it, was simple and direct: “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’s not the language of a player guarding his own spotlight. It’s the language of a 23-year-old who understands that his legacy will be measured in wins, not usage rate.

The money question: Why turn down the Lakers?

The financials add another layer.

According to reports, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka put a three-year offer on the table worth roughly $36 million. That’s about $12 million annually for a player the Lakers viewed as a starting forward.

Turner went on FanDuel’s “Run it Back” and didn’t hide his frustration. He said he couldn’t understand how the Lakers expected to secure a “star starter” at $12 million per year, a figure he described as “pretty decently below the midlevel.”

Then came the twist: Kuminga agreed to an even smaller deal with Minnesota — two years, $12.4 million.

On the surface, it’s a contradiction. Turn down more years and more total money from Los Angeles, then sign for less in a smaller market. The only way it tracks is if you believe what Turner and the Wolves are selling: that role, trust, and fit matter more to Kuminga right now than squeezing every dollar out of this contract.

Edwards’ involvement looms large in that calculation. When the face of the franchise tells you he wants you to “do everything you do and do it loudly,” it changes the weight of the offer.

LaMelo, Kuminga and a new offensive shape

Kuminga’s arrival didn’t happen in isolation. Minnesota also moved to bring in LaMelo Ball, a bold backcourt partner for Edwards and a clear signal that the organization is willing to reshape the offense around its star.

Kuminga, the Congolese forward, signed his two-year, $12.4 million deal into that context — a team that just added a dynamic playmaker in Ball and is leaning into Edwards’ prime with aggression, not caution.

The Wolves have, in effect, given Edwards a new offensive canvas: a creative guard in LaMelo to unlock different looks and a hyper-athletic forward in Kuminga who thrives in space and chaos. It’s a far cry from a star being asked to carry a stagnant roster.

Windhorst: Edwards is “very pleased” with the Wolves’ summer

Inside the league, the reaction has been clear. This isn’t just a front office trying to keep pace in a brutal Western Conference. It’s a front office trying to keep its franchise player deeply invested.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, they’ve hit the mark.

“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.”

Edwards is only six years into his NBA career and has three seasons left on his five-year deal, which runs through 2029. Minnesota doesn’t have to panic yet. But teams around the league know the clock always starts ticking early on players of his caliber.

You don’t wait until the final year to prove you’re serious. You show it in summers like this one.

A franchise finally acting like it has a superstar

For years, the Timberwolves have lived with the reputation of a franchise that stumbles just when it seems ready to rise. This offseason feels different because their best player is not just content — he’s engaged, vocal, and now clearly influential in personnel moves.

Keeping a star happy is one thing. Empowering him to help build the team is another.

If the combination of Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and Jonathan Kuminga clicks, this won’t just be remembered as a clever offseason. It will be seen as the moment Minnesota stopped wondering how to keep Anthony Edwards long term and started giving him a team he’d never want to leave.

The next few springs will decide whether that bet ends with parades or more what-ifs. But for once, the Wolves aren’t drifting. They’re driving straight into Edwards’ era, with the roster built in his image and his voice echoing in every major move.