Outrage Pours In for Jonathan Kuminga After He Turns Down $20 Million Lakers Deal for Timberwolves

Jonathan Kuminga spent most of free agency waiting for the right offer after his time in Atlanta. The wait ended in Minnesota, not Los Angeles. The contract he signed is already being called out.

Kuminga agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Timberwolves, a figure that comes out to about $6.2 million per year. Per Evan Sidery, the Lakers originally offered him two years and $20 million at the start of free agency as one of their top targets.

Kuminga declined that deal to wait out the market. He did not get a bigger number. He got a smaller one in Minnesota, with a player option on the second year.

Gilbert Arenas did not hide his reaction.

“You signed a podcast deal," Agent Zero said via BallisLife. "How does your contracts keep getting worse? You was balling in Atlanta and then signed a Costco members deal. If we knew you was selling a** this low, you would have been signed a long time ago.”

The Lakers’ interest was real and prolonged. Getting Kuminga to Los Angeles required a sign-and-trade with Atlanta that never fully materialized.

Minnesota’s path was simpler. The taxpayer mid-level exception, a starting job at power forward, and a direct recruiting pitch that included Anthony Edwards and a long meeting with president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. Kuminga chose control and a shorter commitment over the larger deal with the Lakers.

Gilbert Arenas Blasts Jonathan Kuminga for Taking Less After Passing on the Lakers

The outrage is not only about Minnesota. It is about the gap between the reported Lakers offer and the deal that actually got signed.

Sidery’s figure of two years and $20 million sat on the table at the start of the summer. By late August, Kuminga agreed to roughly $6.2 million per year. Arenas’ “podcast deal” and “Costco members deal” lines spread because it involved a former lottery pick and productive Hawks forward who took a clear pay cut after holding out.

Kuminga’s camp can argue he bet on himself. A two-year deal with a player option lets him hit the market again quickly if he plays well next to Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert.

That is the basketball case. The financial case is harder to sell to people who watched him turn down more guaranteed money in Los Angeles and then settle for less.

Jonathan Kuminga waited through the summer. Then passed on a reported two-year, $20 million Lakers offer, and signed with the Timberwolves for $13 million over two years. Gilbert Arenas called it a podcast contract. The backlash is loud because he left a bigger Lakers deal on the table and still did not get paid what he waited for.