The Lakers spent the summer chasing Jonathan Kuminga, and for a while it looked like they might be the team that finally landed him. Instead, Los Angeles came up empty, and Kuminga wound up with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a two-year, $13 million deal with a player option.
“Jonathan Kuminga has agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, plus a player option, agent Aaron Turner tells ESPN. Kuminga will be a starter alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert on the West contender," ESPN's Shams Charania wrote.
That leaves the Lakers still searching for help up front. According to The Athletic’s Dan Woike, the team remains in the market for big men and could still address the spot through a trade or a signing. The roster is full right now, but Los Angeles is clearly not done looking.
“The Lakers are still monitoring the market for big men, team sources told The Athletic," The Athletic's Dan Woike reported." They traded for Walker Kessler and signed Kevon Looney to play center, and Mamukelashvili can play the position, too.
The team could address the position either by trade or signing, like with potentially adding Thybulle. The roster is currently at full capacity."
One name that has come up in that conversation is P.J. Washington, with Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus suggesting the Lakers could send Jarred Vanderbilt to Dallas in a deal for the Mavericks forward.
“However, as the season progresses, if L.A. recognizes its need at power forward, Washington is a strong fit as a former Dončić teammate who is a willing role player, defender, and shooter. He's not as accurate from three-point range as the Lakers would want, but Washington knows well where Dončić is going to get him the ball and is willing to let it fly. The Lakers' advantage in going after Washington is that Dallas would probably be happy to take Vanderbilt's $13.3 million player option for 2027-28 to get out of Washington's longer deal,” Pincus wrote.
For Los Angeles, that kind of move would do more than just patch a hole. It would bring Luka Dončić back together with a former Dallas teammate and give the Lakers a forward who can defend, space the floor and finish near the basket. That’s the type of piece they’ve been trying to find all summer.
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Risacher has already talked about the pressure that comes with being selected first overall, and that alone makes his first run with the Mavericks worth watching. For Dallas, the question is not just whether he can fit in on the floor, but how he handles the expectations that come with a move that changed his path again before he had much time to find his footing in Atlanta. [Read more 🡒]