The Los Angeles Lakers missing out on Jonathan Kuminga in free agency hurt their best chance to end up with a better power forward. An active NBA offseason saw the Lakers making many moves to both add talent and lose stars. Kuminga was reportedly choosing between the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves in the final weeks of his decision. Minnesota ultimately won out to make Kuminga their new starting power forward.
Michael Rand of the Minnesota Tribute revealed what exactly the Timberwolves did to win over Kuminga:
“Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd talked to Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, so often this summer that his wife asked him to add up just how frequently they talked. The answer: 94 phone calls between the two. Anthony Edwards also actively recruited Kuminga to join the Wolves.”
The biggest reason for Kuminga trusting Minnesota was the General Manager showing strong interest for quite some time. Lloyd calling Turner 94 times kept the constant communication and showed a desire to bring him in. The star power of Edwards recruiting Kuminga added a lot too to make him pick them over a team with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in the biggest basketball market.
Why Rob Pelinka Could Get Blamed For Lakers Loss
Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka is already under fire for some of his questionable moves this summer. Losing LeBron James will hurt any team, but they didn’t do a sufficient job replacing his production with the new talents joining the roster.
Walker Kessler is already being questioned since the draft picks traded to acquire him and money paid to him makes him the third star on the team. A team like the Lakers clearly needs to have stronger depth, but they missed out on their best opportunity to improve the forward core.
Pelinka apparently didn’t reach out nearly as much as Lloyd did to tempt Kuminga into joining them. The Lakers didn’t treat Kuminga as a major priority to see him choosing the team that wanted him more. Flawed role players Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt are expected to compete for the starting power forward role with much lower upsides than Kuminga offered.
Rob Pelinka Put His Job In Jeopardy
The offseason of bold moves saw Pelinka putting together a roster that will either make him a hero or cost him his job. Banking on Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton to be top five offensive options of a contending team is quite risky for any General Manager.
Pelinka believes that the questionable moves he made were done to benefit Luka and his playing style. Some of the players joining the Lakers have similar playing styles to the Dallas Mavericks team that Doncic helped lead to the NBA Finals.
Time will tell if Pelinka’s decisions were smarter than the average fan or general media consensus believes. Luka only has a few years left on his deal and could opt to leave if the Lakers struggle in the loaded West. Pelinka will get blamed and fired long before head coach JJ Redick since he put together this roster.
How Rob Pelinka Hurt Lakers Chances With Jonathan Kuminga