Kuminga's Minnesota Exit Forces Atlanta's Forward Rotation Through a Rebuild Test

The Atlanta Hawks spent the trade deadline remaking their roster around speed, shooting, and versatility. Jonathan Kuminga arrived in February as the headliner of that makeover — a 23-year-old forward acquired to add athletic punch to a core that had just lost Trae Young. Less than seven months later, he's gone.

Kuminga signed a two-year, $13 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves late last week, reportedly turning down a more lucrative offer from the Lakers. The departure was hardly a surprise — Atlanta had been rumored to be moving on from him for weeks — but it lands at a pivotal time for a franchise trying to establish an identity without its longtime franchise point guard.

What Atlanta loses

Kuminga's 2025 season with the Hawks was solid if unspectacular: 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 33.3% from three in 36 appearances. The numbers undersell what he provided schematically — a slashing, transition-minded forward who could pressure the rim and defend multiple positions, giving the Hawks another creator to share the floor with Jalen Johnson.

That last piece mattered more than most stats suggest. Atlanta was dismal last season when Johnson didn't have another playmaker beside him. The Hawks' offense cratered in those lineups, and the front office spent the winter trying to ensure Johnson never had to carry creation alone. Kuminga was supposed to be part of that solution. Now the Hawks need a replacement.

The next-man-up math

Enter Aaron Wiggins, who posted 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in 65 contests last season while shooting 43.1% overall and 35.6% from deep. Wiggins doesn't have Kuminga's explosive vertical profile, but he's a pesky perimeter defender, a reliable catch-and-shoot option, and — critically — comfortable operating off the ball. That's a clean fit beside Johnson, who averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 7.9 assists last year in what quickly became his team.

There's also second-year forward Asa Newell, whose expanded role was the most direct beneficiary of Kuminga's exit. Atlanta's front office clearly views this as an internal-development moment rather than a hole that needs external patching.

What it means for 2026-27

The Hawks are still built to run — they ranked seventh in the league in pace and seventh in scoring last season — and they open the year with a favorable early stretch against divisional opponents. BetMGM has their win total at 43.5, a number that reflects both the uncertainty of replacing Kuminga and the belief in Johnson's continued trajectory.

The real test comes against the East's upper tier. With five strong conference opponents waiting down the stretch, Atlanta's forward rotation will be under a microscope well before the games that matter most. The Kuminga experiment ended quickly, but it may have taught the Hawks a valuable lesson about what their roster actually needs: not another star, but complementary pieces who know their roles. Wiggins and Newell get the first crack at proving that lesson holds.