With the NBA offseason in its dog days, it appears the Utah Jazz are pretty much set, but other NBA teams are still making some moves during the one month where nothing remarkable typically happens. Operative word being typically. This summer has been a different one from most.
Not too long after the Cleveland Cavaliers got their hands on Peyton Watson, the Minnesota Timberwolves made their finishing touches to their roster by adding Jonathan Kuminga. It's not like Kuminga is some prized addition - if he was, it wouldn't have taken this long for him to catch on somewhere - but this is consequential for the Jazz.
In the immediate term, it makes the Timberwolves a more serious threat to the Jazz with what they hope to accomplish. That wasn't a direct problem for them for the past four years, but it is now. It's hard to pinpoint how much better he'll make them, but they are a contender who wanted a power forward to replace Julius Randle. Well, they got it.
For the past few years, Kuminga has shown glimpses of what he can be, but because they've been few and far between, teams like the Jazz don't even want to take that chance because they are far from desperate.
The Timberwolves became desperate when they realized their current core was really good, but not great. They've definitely gone all out this offseason. Whether it brings them to new heights is another question.
This also affects the Jazz's draft pick situation
When Utah acquired Jaren Jackson Jr., they agreed to send the worst of their pick, Cleveland's, and Minnesota's. Even though they plan to compete as much as possible, the Cavaliers and Timberwolves added some reinforcements this summer.
There's a strong possibility that they might be better than Utah on paper, which could mean Memphis will get their pick when the season is over. This could be a problem if the Jazz are through some stroke of misfortune, a lottery team. Especially with the newly introduced lottery odds, but if they live up to expectations, it's not that big of a deal.
It's not like this affects them long-term. It would have been cool if this had happened say in 2028 because that's when the Walker Kessler trade starts to pay off for the Jazz, but because Kuminga is on a prove-it deal, it's very possible he may join the Lakers next season.
No one in Utah is losing sleep over Kuminga not joining the Jazz, and him joining the Timberwolves isn't intimidating anyone yet. But never underestimate how far a contender will go to reach their potential.
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