Jonathan Kuminga’s next stop remains one of the summer’s more unsettled storylines, and the Lakers are still being mentioned as a possible landing spot.
The former Golden State Warriors champion forward is expected to be in the league in 2026-27, but where he plays his sixth NBA season is still up in the air in late July. HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto raised the possibility of Los Angeles getting involved in a three-team sign-and-trade for the former lottery pick.
“The Lakers and (Atlanta) Hawks had discussions on a Kuminga sign-and-trade that would’ve involved Jarred Vanderbilt and a Los Angeles 2032 first-round pick swap, as the California Post’s Khobi Price first reported,” Scotto wrote Tuesday.
“However, the Hawks have been resistant to taking on Vanderbilt’s $13.29 million salary for the 2027-28 season, which is a player option.”
“Could a combination of Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy, who both have team options for the 2027-28 season, work better in a three-team trade construct involving Kuminga landing with the Lakers and the Hawks getting a traded player exception along with draft pick compensation?”
That kind of third-team setup may be the cleanest path if the Lakers and Hawks can’t get a Kuminga-centered deal over the finish line on their own.
From the Lakers’ side, the idea is straightforward: moving Knecht for Kuminga would be the kind of swing that fits this stage of the offseason, especially with Kuminga’s upside and the chance to pair him with Luka Doncic in Los Angeles. The source also notes that Knecht is moving backward.
Kuminga, 23, averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game with the Warriors and Hawks last season while shooting 46.3% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range.
For now, it’s still just a possibility. But the Lakers remain in the conversation, and the idea of turning a speculative framework into an actual offseason deal is still on the table.
In Other News...
Luka Just Shared The LeBron Standard That Shaped The Lakers
Luka Doncic has had a front-row seat to what has long made LeBron James different, and he did not sound surprised by the standard James sets every day. Doncic pointed to Jamess work ethic and preparation habits as the kind of example that can shape a locker room, which is part of why the Lakers have talked so much about culture since pairing the two stars.
For Doncic, the experience came during a stretch in which he was producing at an elite level for Los Angeles before a season-ending injury shut him down and ended the teams playoff hopes. Even with that disappointment, the broader takeaway from his comments was clear: Jamess habits have left a mark on teammates, and the Lakers will feel that influence long after the games themselves move on. [Read more 🡒]
Former Lakers Champion Just Floated A Wild New LeBron Theory
Markieff Morris, a former Lakers champion, stirred the pot on social media with a speculative chain of NBA moves that would send James Harden to the Phoenix Suns and Jalen Green to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The idea is not tied to any confirmed transaction, but it was the kind of wild roster domino theory that can take on a life of its own once it hits the timeline.
For Lakers fans, the most striking part is the way the scenario reaches all the way back to LeBron James and Cleveland, even as the mechanics of the deal would require a sign-and-trade structure to make the Harden-to-Phoenix and Green-to-Cleveland pieces work. There had not been prior buzz about Green landing in Cleveland before Morris floated the idea, which is part of what makes the whole thing feel more like offseason imagination than a real blueprint, at least for now. [Read more 🡒]