Jonathan Kuminga’s path to the Lakers just got a lot narrower.
Los Angeles added another wing on Monday, agreeing to a one-year, $3.3 million deal with Matisse Thybulle. That move doesn’t close the door on Kuminga, but it does make an already complicated route even tougher for the former Golden State Warriors lottery pick, who remains unsigned in free agency.
What had looked like a natural fit for the Lakers has lost steam in recent days. After their first four major moves of free agency, highlighted by the sign-and-trade for Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler, Kuminga seemed to be the next name in line for Los Angeles once the Atlanta Hawks declined his $24.3 million team option for next season.
Instead, Kuminga passed on the Lakers’ two-year, $20 million offer, and that pushed the conversation toward a sign-and-trade. The problem there is simple: it would require the Hawks to cooperate, and that has apparently run into a wall. With the Lakers now also adding Ziaire Williams and Thybulle, the focus has shifted away from Kuminga and toward other wing options.
ESPN’s Shams Charania said the Lakers were still pushing for Kuminga after the Williams signing last week, but Monday’s Thybulle deal changed the tone.
"The Lakers have until opening night in late October to explore trades to consolidate the roster. L.A. strongly pursued unrestricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga as well, but those talks have not progressed," Charania wrote.
The Thybulle signing leaves the Lakers at 16 players, which makes a Kuminga arrival even more dependent on a sign-and-trade. That’s where the contract issue becomes a problem, because few teams are likely eager to take on the remaining two years and nearly $26 million on Jarred Vanderbilt’s deal.
For Kuminga, this is a familiar kind of free agency limbo. Last offseason, his restricted free agency dragged on until the start of October before he re-signed with the Warriors, then got shipped to the Hawks at February’s mid-season deadline.
This time, he’s an unrestricted free agent, but the freedom hasn’t translated into an easy path to the contract he wants. He still needs another team to step up, and he still may need the Hawks to be satisfied in a sign-and-trade. Monday’s move by the Lakers is another sign that the road he wants may not be opening anytime soon.
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