'Complete malpractice': Analyst rips into Jonathan Kuminga's agent

When a "Breaking News" notification ripples through the phones of the NBA world, there's usually a reason why the anonymous "league sources" behind the scoop prefer to remain anonymous.

In the case of Aaron Turner, agent for Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Jonathan Kuminga, every new on-the-record statement increasingly becomes the exception that proves the rule.

After turning down a three-year, $75 million offer last summer in favor of a purported better level of future flexibility, Kuminga's freshly signed two-year, $12.4 million contract looks not only shocking but downright embarrassing.

And this time, the pundits are not letting Turner off easy, with one particularly respected voice not pulling any punches whatsoever toward the self-assured agent.

Sam Vecenie blasts Aaron Turner

Sam Vecenie, senior writer for The Athletic and host of the "Game Theory Podcast," spelled out loud and clear how he felt about Turner in his pod livestream Sunday night.

"How Aaron Turner has handled this is, like, complete malpractice as an agent," Vecenie stated. "I'm sorry, it just is."

Vecenie went on to cite Turner's own words from a 2025 interview with the San Francisco Standard, given shortly after the decision was made to decline the $75 million offer from the Golden State Warriors in favor of a two-year, $46.8 million contract that included a franchise-friendly second-year team option — one that the Atlanta Hawks eventually declined after trading for Kuminga midseason.

"Everybody’s like, ‘Aaron f---ed up,’" Turner said in 2025. "I’m like, hold on. Did I fumble something? Because fumbling would mean like next year, if [Kuminga] is making $10 million a year, you could say I fumbled by not taking [three years for $75 million]. You can’t say I fumbled because I didn’t fumble anything yet."

There's a reason agents rarely go on the record with statements like these. And with Kuminga now slated to earn just $6 million across the 2026-27 season, these words are well and truly coming back to bite Turner.

"Well, dude, I'm here to tell you, you fumbled and you f---ed up, Aaron Turner," Vecenie declared. "That is the reality of the situation in terms of how you handled this."

The declaration is especially damning coming from Vecenie, a draft specialist who starts tracking players long before their entry to the NBA and who knows that Kuminga has a true worth much closer to last summer's offer than this summer's consolation.

Bottom of the class

Kuminga was taken seventh overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, behind stars like Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley, but still ahead of notable names like Franz Wagner and Alperen Sengun. Given that all of these players entered the league at the same time, it's fair enough to compare how their salaries have evolved over their five years around the association.

Unsurprisingly, Cunningham and Mobley top the list, both signed to max contracts that, according to Spotrac, will pay a hair over $50 million this year — a fitting figure for two of the most imposing presences in the league. Wagner's 2026-27 salary ranks third at almost $42 million, while Sengun slots in at sixth, making $35.6 million.

What about Kuminga? Well, he now finds himself on the opposite end of the list. Of the 21 first-round picks from 2021 that are still listed as active within the league by Spotrac, Kuminga's $6 million salary this year is third-worst, behind only Bones Hyland and Ziaire Williams, both on $2 million minimums.

That sum is remarkable given that Kuminga is expected to start for the Timberwolves this coming season. And it is almost laughable when considering that he was just a signature away from it being $25 million instead.

No one will deny that Minnesota looks as threatening as ever ahead of this year, especially in a Western Conference that's top-heavy but thins out quickly. But all eyes will be on Kuminga to see if he finally earns himself the contract he's been holding out for — or falls by the NBA wayside for good.