Jonathan Kuminga’s free agency has settled into a stalemate, and the longer it drags on, the clearer it becomes that a deal is going to take patience - and a lot of moving parts.
A player as young and talented as Kuminga usually doesn’t sit this deep into free agency, but his limited run at his most recent stop and a hefty asking price have made the summer quieter than expected. There have been conversations with multiple teams, yet none of them have gotten to a place either side would call close.
At this stage of free agency, the list of teams with real cap room is thin. That leaves sign-and-trade as the likeliest path for Kuminga, but that route depends on both sides agreeing to the framework. The Atlanta Hawks, for one, have little incentive to absorb salary they don’t want just to help another team land him.
For a stretch, the Los Angeles Lakers looked like the most serious possibility. They were prepared to send Jarred Vanderbilt, the 27-year-old defensive standout who is due to make more than $13 million in each of the next two seasons, plus a modest amount of draft capital to Atlanta in exchange for Kuminga on a new contract.
But Atlanta has kept its finances front and center all summer, even while trying to improve defensively, and Vanderbilt’s money made that idea unrealistic. The Hawks could try to widen the deal by bringing in a third team, but that’s not easy this late in the offseason, when most rosters are already largely set.
There’s another wrinkle, too: Atlanta already needs to move two players in some form before the season starts because it is two above the limit. Taking back additional salary in a Kuminga deal would only make that situation tougher.
And the Lakers aren’t the only ones involved. Minnesota and Cleveland are still in the mix, but the gap remains wide with all sides. Kuminga’s camp does not appear ready to lower its price, and any sign-and-trade would require a new contract of at least three seasons.
That’s a serious commitment for any team. The reward, of course, is a quality young forward with plenty of upside. But for now, there’s no clear timetable for when - or if - anything gets done.
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Hawks Face One Big Reality In Peyton Watson Pursuit
Peyton Watsons status has turned into one of those summer situations that can quietly reshape a market before anyone gets to camp. The restricted free agent has not re-signed with Denver, and the buzz around him has only grown as other teams monitor the possibility of a deal, with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Clippers all linked to the discussion at various points.
For Atlanta, the interest appears to be more about doing due diligence than pushing aggressively, which fits the reality of where the Hawks are roster-wise and financially. A sign-and-trade would not be simple to pull off, and unless something changes soon, this is the kind of pursuit that could linger well past the early wave of free agency and into training camp. [Read more 🡒]