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Anthony Edwards'focus on defense convinced Jonathan Kuminga to join
Timberwolves

https://reurl.cc/NOlda5

By Jon Krawczynski

As Jonathan Kuminga mulled over where his basketball journey would take him
next, he got a call from Anthony Edwards that put the Minnesota Timberwolves
front and center in his mind.

當 Jonathan Kuminga 正在苦惱自己籃球生涯的下一步該走向何方時，他接到了
Anthony Edwards 打來的一通電話，這讓明尼蘇達灰狼隊瞬間成為他心中的首選。

Edwards and Kuminga are kindred basketball spirits, in a way. Two high-flyers
who like to put the ball in the basket and delight in breaking down a
defender off the dribble with the shot clock winding down. But what really
resonated with Kuminga about the conversation, his agent, Aaron Turner, said,
was that Edwards didn’t talk about scoring at all.

在某種程度上，Edwards 與 Kuminga 是籃球場上的同類人物。兩人都是高空飛人，熱衷
於將球送入籃框，並喜歡在進攻時間即將耗盡時，透過單打突破撕裂防守者。但
Kuminga 的經紀人 Aaron Turner 表示，這場對話真正引起 Kuminga 共鳴的，是
Edwards 完全沒有提到得分。

“Ant was super active in the recruitment of him,” Turner told The Athletic.
“One thing he did was focus his message on, we’re gonna really guard here.
Everybody looked at the offensive end. JK and I looked more at the defensive
end.”

「Ant在他的招募過程中非常主動，」Turner 告訴《The Athletic》
，「他做的一件事，就是把訊息焦點放在『我們在這裡會動真格地去防守』。大家都只看
進攻端，但JK和我更看重防守端。」

Turner is well aware of the perception surrounding his client. Kuminga spent
his first four-and-a-half seasons with the Golden State Warriors, and his
relationship with coach Steve Kerr grew contentious before he was traded to
the Atlanta Hawks in February. Some painted Kuminga as a player more
concerned with becoming a featured scorer than with fitting in with Steph
Curry, Klay Thompson and the championship-chasing Warriors.


Thompson 以及追求總冠軍的勇士隊，更在乎自己能否成為主攻手的人。

Kuminga’s decision to turn down significantly more money from the Los
Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Chicago Bulls this week in favor
of a two-year, $12 million offer from the Timberwolves could help change that
view of him as a single-minded player. The deal has a player option for
2027-28, giving Kuminga the flexibility to re-enter the market next summer if
bigger deals become available. But Turner said that money did not play a role
in Kuminga’s decision this time around.

Kuminga 本週決定拒絕洛杉磯湖人隊、波特蘭拓荒者隊和芝加哥公牛隊提供的更高報價，
轉而接受灰狼隊一份為期兩年、價值 1200 萬美元的合約，這可能有助於改變人們認為
他只顧自己的看法。該合約包含 2027-28 賽季的球員選項，讓 Kuminga 能在明年夏天若
有更大合約時，保有重新進入自由市場的彈性。但 Turner 表示，這次資金並不是
Kuminga 做出決定的考量因素。

“We sat at the gym this week, and I asked him, what’s the best basketball
situation?” Turner said. “He said Minnesota. Well, nothing else matters.
Why would you go anywhere else?”

「我們這週坐在體育館裡，我問他，什麼才是最好的籃球環境？」Turner 說，「他說是
明尼蘇達。既然如此，其他都不重要了。那你為什麼還要去別的地方？」

It wasn’t just Edwards who made an impression on Kuminga. He had dinner in
Miami with team president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who didn’t
mince words about what the Wolves could give Kuminga and what they would ask
of him as well. Owner Alex Rodriguez connected with him to show him that he
would have backing in Minnesota at the highest levels. LaMelo Ball and Jaden
McDaniels also reached out, telling him how much they wanted him on the team.
And coach Chris Finch had several long conversations with Kuminga about the
team’s culture of accountability.

給 Kuminga 留下深刻印象的不僅僅是 Edwards。他在邁阿密與球隊籃球運營總裁 Tim


“It was such a solid respect factor from top to bottom,” Turner said.

「從上到下都展現出了極其堅實的尊重，」Turner 說。

The Wolves all brought up how Kuminga averaged 20.8 points per game on 54
percent shooting in their 2025 playoff matchup against Golden State. They
told him how much they needed his size and athleticism after trading Julius
Randle and Naz Reid in the offseason. After the way things ended for Kuminga
with the Warriors, and Atlanta’s decision not to exercise his $24 million
contract option when the season ended, the love Minnesota showed for Kuminga
won him over.



“This is your chance to go to a place you can feel believed in,” Turner
said he told Kuminga. “They’re going to encourage you. They’re going to
push you, but they’re not going to run away from you.”

「這是你前往一個能讓你感受到被信任之地的機會，」Turner 表示他曾這樣對 Kuminga
說，「他們會鼓勵你、推動你，但他們絕不會拋下你。」

Turner has a long relationship with Connelly and Wolves general manager Matt
Lloyd. Minnesota started the recruitment with only the $3.6 million veteran
minimum salary to offer, but Turner urged Connelly and Lloyd to free up more
money to get a real shot at landing Kuminga for their vacant power forward
position. When new controlling owner Marc Stad told Connelly that he had the
green light to do whatever it took to get up to the $6 million taxpayer
mid-level exception, the door opened in earnest, and Edwards kicked it down.


leadership this summer, including when he helped organize a team trip to
Paris to work out in Rudy Gobert’s hometown. Edwards played for Kerr at the
Paris Olympics, so he could relate to Kuminga when he talked about what didn’
t work for him with the Warriors. Edwards referred back to the playoff series
often in their conversations, telling Kuminga the Wolves had no answer for
him on either end of the floor.



“Ant can relate to JK in a way very few, if any, in the world can,” Turner
said. “Him saying, ‘I know what you can do’ meant a lot.”

「Ant 能以世界上極少數人的方式與 JK 產生共鸣，」Turner 說，「他說出『我知道你
能做到什麼』這句話，對 JK 來說意義重大。」

Edwards knew the Timberwolves’ frontcourt was thin up after this summer’s
moves, and he also knew that for Kuminga to get the most of his experience in
Minnesota, he would have to come in with bigger priorities than just putting
the ball in the basket.

Edwards 知道在今年夏天的變動後，灰狼的前場陣容變得單薄，他也清楚，若要讓
Kuminga 在明尼蘇達獲得最好的體驗，他就必須帶著比「把球投進框裡」更高的優先事項
前來。

Kuminga looked at the Wolves roster and saw Gobert, the four-time Defensive
Player of the Year, McDaniels, one of the best perimeter defenders in the
league, and Edwards, who can be a bulldog when he locks in on that end. He
envisions tag-teaming with McDaniels in guarding the opponent’s best
scorers, pressuring the ball, bolstering the team’s rebounding and creating
turnovers for transition opportunities.


McDaniels 聯手防守對手最強的得分手、加強球權施壓、鞏固球隊籃板，並製造失誤來創

造轉換進攻的機會。

“Ant did a great job of painting a picture of we’re going to be nasty
defensively, and we’re going to share the ball,” Turner said.

「Ant 很出色地描繪了一幅藍圖：我們將在防守端展現強悍作風，而且我們會分享球權，
」Turner 說。

And after so much concentration on Kuminga’s spot in the offensive pecking
order in Golden State, Turner said Kuminga just wants to be a part of an
unselfish offense that moves the ball and gets everyone involved.

而在金州勇士隊時，大家總是過度關注 Kuminga 在進攻端優先順序的情況下，Turner 表
示 Kuminga 現在只想成為無私進攻體系的一員，透過傳導球讓每個人都參與其中。

“He made this decision because of the defensive versatility of this team,”
Turner said. “Offense is secondary to what he’s thinking about. It’s going
to be whatever we gotta do to win that night. Nobody is going to care about
stats or shots.”



For now, those are all just words that sound great. What really matters is
what happens when the team hits the floor in October. But if Kuminga backs up
his agent’s words with action, the team’s ceiling will be raised by a
considerable margin.



Turner and Kuminga have faced withering criticism in some corners for how
they handled his contracts over the last couple of years. In making this move
to Minnesota, Turner believes it will put his client in a position of
strength moving forward. If he comes to the Timberwolves and shows that he
can impact winning by bringing intangibles to the table along with his
overwhelming athleticism, the money will come.

Turner 和 Kuminga 在過去幾年處理合約的方式遭到了部分人士的嚴厲批評。但在做出前
往明尼蘇達的決定時，Turner 相信這將使他的客戶在未來處於有利地位。如果他來到
Timberwolves，並證明自己除了驚人的運動能力外，還能透過帶來無形的影響力來幫助球
隊獲勝，那麼大合約自然會隨之而來。

The hope, Turner said, is that this is the start of a long relationship with
the Wolves. But even if this is a shorter-term arrangement, both sides still
have so much to gain.

Turner 表示，希望這是與狼隊長期合作關係的開端。但即使這是一份短期安排，雙方依
然能從中受益匪淺。

“The best thing he can do for himself is focus on the moment,” Turner said.
“If everybody guards and nobody cares about stats and it’s all about the
team and winning, it’s going to be good.”

「他能為自己做的最好的事，就是專注於當下，」Turner 說，「如果每個人都做好防守
、不在乎數據，全心為了球隊與贏球而戰，事情就會變得非常美好。」

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相較湖人的先簽後換3年約30M的合約

灰狼提供小中產1+1PO共12M的合約給苦命

預計明年苦命不撿PO能夠開出1+1PO全額中產(約30M以上)給苦命

若照這過程預期在第二年結束灰狼取得完整鳥權的情形下

灰狼屆時狗貝合約到期

重整手上薪資後預期可開出相較Jaden或是Reid等級的4Y/100M等級合約給苦命

單就合約情形

苦命可以在灰狼一邊保持探究市場價值

一邊待在有競爭力的球隊證明自己身價

灰狼明年完全沒有選秀籤

即使買一支二輪末也絕對不可能瞬間引進苦命等級的天賦

後年假使保持二輪等級也不太可能在20~25順位左右填到二輪等級球隊的大前鋒即戰力

苦命單就合約上的把灰狼跟湖人相比

選灰狼應可掌握更多主動地位

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※ 作者: vince4687 2026-08-29 00:10:32
※ 文章代碼(AID): #1gaRBxtG (NBA)
※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/NBA/M.1787933435.A.DD0.html