Say what you want about Jonathan Kuminga’s agent, Aaron Turner. But the man sure knows how to make headlines, for better or for worse.
Turner has been on a press tour of sorts, defending Kuminga and his career decisions after the latter signed a relatively modest deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kuminga’s two-year, $13 million agreement with the T-Wolves fell well short of past deals the swingman reportedly turned down in pursuit of a larger payday.
The veteran agent appeared on Monday’s episode of “The Kevin O’Connor Show” to discuss Kuminga’s move to Minnesota. One particular clip of Turner talking up his client turned heads among neutral observers on social media.
Turner claimed Kuminga, who got traded to the Atlanta Hawks before last season’s trade deadline, was the team’s “best player” in terms of “winning impact.”
“JK got shipped to Atlanta, and there was a lot of talk about Jonathan Kuminga and his winning impact. He was their best player from the moment he showed up in terms of winning impact,” Turner told O’Connor.
“He had the best on/off net rating in the regular season and in the playoffs. In their two wins against the New York Knicks, who had the best net rating? Jonathan Kuminga.”
Aaron Turner on Kuminga’s role with the Hawks: “He was their best player” pic.twitter.com/XWcOGWzI9l
— dre (@OnBallSteph) August 31, 2026
Kuminga looked poised to break out with the Hawks after his 27-point debut. However, he ended up averaging just 11.3 points over the remaining 15 regular-season games he played.
As Turner mentioned, Kuminga was indeed a standout performer in Games 2 and 3. He averaged 20.0 points in those contests, both of which ended in Atlanta wins. But mentioning just the two games in which he played well feels more like cherry-picking than making a valid argument in Kuminga’s favor.
Using net rating to call Kuminga the team’s “best player” is also misleading, given the various factors that affect the statistic. A big one is that Kuminga came off the bench for 21 of his 22 games with the team, which could significantly skew the data since he was mostly playing against reserves.
One could argue that Kuminga was an overqualified bench player who deserved to start. But calling him the Hawks’ “best player” because of net rating is quite a leap.
Atlanta saw Jalen Johnson blossom into an All-Star, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker won the Most Improved Player award with a breakout season of his own. Veteran guard CJ McCollum also channeled his inner Damian Lillard for a series against the Knicks.
Turner may tout Kuminga as the Hawks’ best player, but the team’s fans almost certainly wouldn’t agree.
