Jonathan Kuminga

Jonathan Kuminga Opts For G League Professional Path

8:52pm: Kuminga’s deal is expected to be in the $500K range, tweets Charania.

8:35pm: 17-year-old forward Jonathan Kuminga has decided to forgo college and will take the NBA G League professional path for the 2020/21 season, reports Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Kuminga confirmed the decision to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Kuminga is one of the top prospects in the 2020 recruiting class, ranking fourth overall on ESPN’s list, — he also comes in at No. 4 on ESPN’s early 2021 mock draft. He becomes the fifth notable prospect to opt to join the G League’s new Select Team — No. 1 recruit Jalen Green will also be part of that squad, as will Daishen Nix, Isaiah Todd, and Kai Sotto.

[RELATED: G League Development Program Revamped, Includes $500K Salaries]

The 6’8″ Kuminga announced on social media last week that he would reveal his decision this Thursday, but ended up doing so a day early.

A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kuminga attended The Patrick School in Elizabeth, N.J. He had narrowed his college options to Auburn, Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech, but was always considered a good bet to go the G League route. He’ll be eligible to enter the draft as early as 2021.

Jonathan Kuminga Going G League Route?

The top-rated prospect in the Class of 2020, Jalen Green, passed on college opportunities to join the G League. Two other highly-regarded prospects made the same commitment, as did one from overseas.

Now, Jonathan Kuminga — ranked No. 4 in his class by ESPN — may join them, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets. All signs point to Kuminga joining the G League’s new Select Team and receiving as much as $500K, according to Zagoria.

The 6’8” Kuminga announced on social media he would reveal his decision on Thursday. A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kuminga attended The Patrick School in Elizabeth, N.J. He narrowed his college options to Auburn, Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech.

Kuminga is currently training in Miami, Zagoria continues, and was recently seen playing pickup ball with Michael Beasley, who just signed with the Nets as a substitute player, as well as another of the prospects headed to the G League, Isaiah Todd.

Todd is ranked No. 15 by ESPN while the other prep player who went the G League route, guard Daishen Nix, is rated No. 21. Kai Sotto, a 7’2″ center from the Philippines, is also committed to the Select Team.

Draft Notes: Cisse, Kuminga, West, International

Forward Moussa Cisse, a top-10 prospect for the class of 2021, will graduate high school a year early and reclassify to this year with an eye toward the 2021 draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN reports. Cisse was ranked No. 8 among prospects for the 2021 class. The 6’11” Cisse intends to commit to a top college program next week and has narrowed his choices to Kentucky, LSU, Florida State, Georgia, Memphis or Georgetown. “I am trying to find the best way to the NBA,” Cisse said.

We have more draft-related news:

  • Small forward Jonathan Kuminga, the top-ranked player on ESPN’s 2021 prospects list, has the option of reclassifying to this year and is considering the G League, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com. Kuminga is “50-50” on reclassifying, but has already narrowed his college choices to Auburn, Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech, along with the possibility of joining the G League development program. Kuminga has been doing online schoolwork in order to graduate early, Zagoria adds.
  • Marshall guard Jarrod West has elected to withdraw from the draft and return to school for his senior season, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets. A three-year starter with the Thundering Herd, West averaged 14.2 PPG, 4.1 APG, and 4.0 RPG last season.
  • Killian Hayes, Deni Avdija and Abdoulaye N’Doye rank as the top international prospects in this year’s draft, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype. Players who participated in the Australian NBL’s Next Stars program this past season were not included in the rankings. According to ESPN’s latest rankings, Avdija is the top overseas prospect at No. 5 overall with Hayes ranked at No. 9.