The Lakers’ pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga is back on the board, and the latest chatter points to a sign-and-trade path that would have to get a little creative.
Kuminga remains an unrestricted free agent, and his name has already been floated as a possible sign-and-trade piece with the Atlanta Hawks. The Lakers were tied to him earlier in the offseason, but those talks never really caught fire, and the team moved its focus elsewhere.
That may not be the end of it. On Monday, rumors picked up again, and Kurt Helin of NBC Sports outlined one possible route for Los Angeles: a deal built around Jaden Hardy, who is set to make $6 million this season.
"The Lakers and Hawks are talking sign-and-trade again, with guard Jaden Hardy reportedly in the conversation (he makes $6 million this season), while previously that was Jarred Vanderbilt ($12.4 million)," Helin wrote.
Brian Windhorst also sees a Kuminga-Hardy framework as something that could happen, though he made clear on "The Hoop Collective" podcast over the weekend that a third team would likely have to be involved.
"There's still a window there for the Lakers to do a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade deal using Jaden Hardy. But my thing on the whole Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade thing is that for the Hawks to do a sign-and-trade, they're going to probably end up in the tax unless you can ship someone to a third team who has to be paid," he said (Timestamp at 31:32).
"And I've just been very doubtful that unless the Hawks are in love with the situation that they're going to end up signing and trading Kuminga."
Windhorst also mentioned the Minnesota Timberwolves as another team that could get involved while that window remains open.
Helin, though, thinks the Lakers make the cleaner fit. He noted that Kuminga reportedly likes the idea of landing in Los Angeles, where he would slot in as the starting four.
"Kuminga reportedly likes the idea of playing for the Lakers - who would start him at the four - as a better fit," he wrote.
Still, Helin pointed to the bigger issue: what Kuminga’s role would actually look like once he got there. With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves already in place, he wouldn’t be walking into a lead-scoring job in LA.
And if Minnesota enters the picture, the same kind of question follows there too, with Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball set to get the scoring priority.
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