Jonathan Kuminga reaches 2-year, $12.4M deal with Timberwolves - ESPN

Free agent wing Jonathan Kuminga agreed to a two-year, $12.4 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, which includes a player option on the second season, his agent Aaron Turner told ESPN's Shams Charania on Wednesday.

Part of Minnesota's pitch is that Kuminga will fill the vacant starting power forward slot alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert on an established Western Conference contender.

To complete the transaction, the Timberwolves will work through trade scenarios with reserve wing Josh Green or, if they are unable to find a landing spot, waive and stretch him before the Saturday deadline, league sources told Charania.

Kuminga chose the Timberwolves over offers from the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers — bypassing a similar starting role and $12 million-plus annually over three years from the Lakers in a sign-and-trade scenario, deciding on Minnesota on a shorter-term, prove-it deal to give him the ability to have more control of his future and possibly jump back in free agency next summer, league sources told Charania.

In the past month, the Timberwolves persistently recruited Kuminga, offering their best remaining financial tool — the taxpayer midlevel exception — attached to a large on-court opportunity. Edwards was a vocal part of the full-court recruiting press to sign Kuminga. Team president Tim Connelly traveled to Miami for a four-hour in-person meeting with Kuminga earlier this month, and the sixth-year wing also held productive conversations with coach Chris Finch, league sources said.

This concludes a second consecutive drawn-out free agency process for Kuminga after lengthy negotiations with the Golden State Warriors in restricted free