Jonathan Kuminga’s career has taken another unexpected turn. After re-signing with the Golden State Warriors in September, the former No. 7 pick was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in February. Now, he is headed to Minnesota on a two-year, $12.4 million deal. The Congolese forward passed up significantly more lucrative opportunities to bet on himself and return to free agency next summer. His agent offered an explanation for the decision, which NBA fans are not buying, and neither is one former NBA star, who believes Kuminga’s camp may have made a costly mistake.

Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner, spoke to Chandler Parsons on “Run It Back” last week and stated that they passed over the three-year, $75 million offer from the Warriors last season because, “If you take a longer deal, you have no control over that (good basketball fit). You actually take less control because you see this all the time.”

The clip quickly spread across social media. Fans questioned the strategy, arguing that Kuminga had already sacrificed significant guaranteed money by prioritizing flexibility. Former NBA guard Ty Lawson was among those who reacted.

He took aim at Turner on X, writing “🤣😂🤣 Johnathan kuminga needs pack his agent up immediately.. send that ‘you’re fired’ letter immediately… There’s no way he jumped on camera like this lol.”

But Lawson was not finished. After a Warriors fan account criticized Jonathan Kuminga’s agent for having “stans,” which they found “alarming,” Lawson agreed and replied, “Unbelievable lol.”

In the 19-minute interview on “Run It Back”, Turner spoke in detail regarding the contract situations that Kuminga faced. First, he called the negotiations with the Warriors ‘the weirdest of all time.’ He even stated that head coach Steve Kerr had publicly questioned JK’s fit with the roster, and yet the Golden State front office was ready to offer a new contract.

Turner even confirmed that there was no five-year, $150 million deal on the table. The best offer from the Warriors was a three-year, $75 million deal with a team option. But keeping the best basketball fit in mind, JK’s camp chose the two-year, $46.8 million contract extension, which had a team option for the second season. But in February, Kuminga was traded to the Hawks, and they later decided not to exercise that team option.

So, the 23-year-old was again looking for a new team, with the Cavaliers, Lakers, and Timberwolves all interested. Kuminga chose the Wolves, but again his two-year, $12.4 million contract drew criticism because Turner potentially left money on the table for his client by not signing with the Lakers.

Reports suggested that the Purple and Gold franchise would acquire Jonathan Kuminga through a sign-and-trade, which meant he would sign a three-year deal. The Lakers even reportedly offered $12 million annually. But JK signed a lower AAV contract with the Wolves.

No doubt the fit matters, and alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and Rudy Gobert, Jonathan Kuminga could regain his best form. But next season he would again be in the situation where he would test the waters of free agency, which is always uncertain.

Another reason why Turner is facing flak for the interview is that he already seems to be lobbying for Kuminga’s next move after Minnesota.

“I would say on paper, next year for Jonathan Kuminga is a way better free-agency year for him,” Turner told Parsons. “There’s a lot of teams with money, and if you have paid attention to the JK’s recruiting saga over the last few years, those teams that have been trying to sign and trade from (are) Sacramento and Chicago, these teams have a lot of money next year.”

For Lawson and other fans, the interview only reinforced the belief that Jonathan Kuminga’s representation seems to have mishandled his recent contract situations. Whether the gamble pays off will ultimately depend on what Kuminga does in Minnesota.