Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga (0) leaves the court afte a game against the Miami Heat at State Farm Arena with Lakers' Mychal Thompson in the background
Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Late in the NBA free agency period, there were two players the Chicago Bulls were rumored to have interest in, and they were restricted free agent forwards Jonathan Kuminga and Bennedict Mathurin. The Bulls didn’t land either one of them, but Kuminga was the player the Bulls really wanted out of the duo, as per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic.
While the Bulls interest in signing Jonathan Kuminga in free agency was indeed real, the organization was reportedly unwilling to promise him that he’d start and that he would close out games, per Lorenzi. The former lottery pick ultimately signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves where he is expected to have that role.
The Bulls also reportedly did not view Kuminga as being an antithesis to the youth movement and rebuild the organization is currently in. No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson is coming off an impressive NBA Summer League showing. Along with Matas Buzelis, they are the Bulls’ most promising young players.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga spent the first four and half seasons of his career with the Golden State Warriors before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks at last season’s trade deadline. He was a key contributor during the Hawks’ opening round playoff series loss to the New York Knicks, and chose to depart after only half a season.
Kuminga played in a total of 36 games, including 14 starts, between the Warriors and Hawks last season. He averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists with splits of 46.3 percent shooting from the field, 33.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 72.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.