The most interesting lineup decision Chris Finch has to make this fall comes down to one spot. LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert are starting. The fifth starter is either Jonathan Kuminga or Ayo Dosunmu.
I’d start Kuminga. Not because he’s the better player right now, and not because Dosunmu did anything wrong. I’d start him because the Wolves are short on size, and he’s the only one of the two who fixes that.
The case for Dosunmu is real
Let’s get this out of the way first, because it’s the strongest argument on the other side. Dosunmu can shoot, and Kuminga can’t yet.
Here’s how their 2025-26 seasons compare, per Basketball Reference:
| 2025-26 | Dosunmu | Kuminga |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 69 | 36 |
| Minutes | 27.3 | 23.1 |
| Points | 14.8 | 12.2 |
| Rebounds | 3.4 | 5.6 |
| Assists | 3.6 | 2.3 |
| 3-point % | 43.9% | 33.3% |
| 3-point attempts | 4.1 | 2.9 |
| Free throw % | 87.6% | 72.4% |
Dosunmu shot 43.9% from three on four attempts a game and made 92.5% of his free throws after the deadline deal brought him to Minnesota. He’s also the one who just signed a five-year, $112 million contract, and $19.3 million of it comes this season. Kuminga is making about $6.1 million.
If you’re building a starting lineup around Edwards and Ball, spacing matters. Gobert doesn’t shoot threes at all. A starting group with a 33% shooter at the four gives defenses somewhere to hide. That’s a fair worry, and I’m not going to pretend it isn’t.
Why size still wins
Look at what the Wolves lost this summer. Naz Reid and Julius Randle both went out in the Ball trade. Those two handled most of the frontcourt minutes that weren’t Gobert’s. What’s left behind Gobert is Joan Beringer, who played 7.9 minutes a night as a rookie, and Trey Lyles on a minimum deal. You can see the full Wolves depth chart and every contract here.
Now picture the starting five with Dosunmu in it. Ball is 6-7, Edwards and Dosunmu are both 6-4, McDaniels is 6-9, and Gobert is the only big. McDaniels would have to guard power forwards every night.
That’s the part I can’t get past. McDaniels is at his best chasing the other team’s best wing. He averaged 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks last season as a full-time starter. Use him as a power forward and you take your best perimeter defender off the player he’s supposed to guard.
Kuminga, at 6-7, lets McDaniels stay on the wing. He can take the bigger forward, and he rebounds. He pulled down 5.6 a game last season in fewer minutes than Dosunmu, who averaged 3.4. On a team where the backup center job is wide open, a starter who can rebound and body up matters more than usual.
Dosunmu is more valuable off the bench
Here’s the other half of it. The Wolves’ second unit needs someone to run it. Bones Hyland is a scorer. Jaylen Clark is a defender. Neither is going to organize an offense for 12 minutes against a set rotation.
Dosunmu can. He averaged 3.6 assists last season and started only 19 of his 69 games, including nine of 24 in Minnesota. He’s comfortable coming in and taking over a group. That skill gets wasted if he’s the third ball-handler in a starting five with Ball and Edwards.
And the money shouldn’t decide it. Plenty of teams pay their sixth man like a starter. What matters is which five players work best together for the first eight minutes, and which group can hold a lead when the starters sit.
Kuminga chose this role
There’s one more reason, and it’s about the player. Kuminga had other options this summer. ESPN reported he turned down a sign-and-trade with the Lakers worth more than $12 million a year over three seasons, plus interest from Chicago and Portland, to take a two-year deal in Minnesota with a player option on the second year.
That’s a bet on himself. He took less security to play a big role on a good team, with the option to test free agency again next summer. If he comes off the bench behind a guard, that isn’t the job he signed up for.
Kuminga also played only 36 games last season between Golden State and Atlanta. He needs a steady role more than almost anyone on the roster.
Where I’d change my mind
I’m not locked in on this. If Kuminga is shooting below 30% from three a month into the season and teams are leaving him wide open, the Wolves have to adjust.
The easy middle ground is to start Kuminga and close with Dosunmu when the Wolves need shooting late. The starting five doesn’t have to be the closing five.
But to start the season, I want to see the version of this team that’s big, physical and hard to score on. That version has Kuminga at the four.
This is one of the five questions I laid out for Monday’s media day. If Finch calls Kuminga a starter on Monday, the plan is set.