The Lakers’ search for a starting-caliber wing has already hit a wall, and the latest miss only sharpens the problem. After pursuing Jonathan Kuminga for an extended stretch, Los Angeles watched the 23-year-old forward land with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a two-year, $12.4 million deal. That leaves the Purple and Gold right back where they started: still hunting for help on the wing, and still trying to figure out how to make the roster math work.
One name that fits the conversation is Sacramento Kings forward De’Andre Hunter. On paper, he checks a lot of boxes for the Lakers.
He brings size, defensive flexibility and enough scoring to handle a real role on the floor. Last season, Hunter put up 13.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.7 steals per game while shooting 41.5% from the field.
His 30.5% mark from three is the obvious blemish, but his career 36.4% shooting from deep suggests that number may not tell the whole story.
In a lot of ways, Hunter looks like a cleaner fit for Los Angeles than Kuminga did, especially because of what he can do defensively. The bigger question is whether the Lakers can actually get him.
Hunter may not be the first name that jumps out, mainly because Sacramento only picked him up at the trade deadline in February. Still, the Kings’ rebuilding direction gives the Lakers at least a reason to explore it.
The catch is the contract situation. Hunter is on an expiring deal worth $24.9 million, and that means Los Angeles would need to move real money out to bring him in.
The most obvious starting point would be Jarred Vanderbilt, who is set to make $12.4 million this season. Vanderbilt was also expected to be part of the kind of package the Lakers were prepared to use in the Kuminga chase, along with draft compensation, so the framework is not completely foreign.
A theoretical package of Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia ($6.0 million), Dalton Knecht ($4.2 million) and Bronny James ($2.3 million) would get closer to matching Hunter’s salary. Add draft compensation, and Sacramento might find the deal worth considering.
But the Kings would have their own roster headache. They are currently below the tax line with a $196.2 million payroll, yet they only have 13 active players.
Taking on four more salaries would mean they’d have to waive or cut players before finishing their roster. Vanderbilt’s contract complicates things further, too, since it runs two more years and includes a $13.2 million player option for 2027-28.
That may not be the kind of money Sacramento wants to absorb while it’s trying to reshape its roster.
That same issue came up during the Kuminga talks, which is why a three-team trade is the cleanest path on paper. In that setup, the Lakers could send Vanderbilt and another player to a third team, route the rest of the assets to Sacramento, and open enough space to land Hunter.
The Kings would get young players and draft compensation while trimming salary. The problem is simple: finding a third team willing to jump in makes the whole thing much harder to pull off.
At this point, the Lakers could clearly use Hunter. They just may not have the assets or the cap flexibility to finish the job after all the moves they’ve already made.
And there’s also a real health concern. Over his six-year NBA career, Hunter has reached more than 65 appearances only once, and his season last year ended early because of an eye injury.
So if Los Angeles keeps looking, it may make more sense to turn elsewhere. P.J. Washington is already being mentioned as one of the better options for the Lakers, and this could be the moment to circle back and see whether that path makes more sense for a team still trying to strengthen its roster.
In Other News...
Lakers Lost Out On Jonathan Kuminga For A Reason Fans Will Notice
Jonathan Kumingas free-agency saga finally settled this week, with the former Warriors forward agreeing to a one-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves after weeks of back-and-forth that also drew in the Lakers and Chicago. For Los Angeles, the miss is a familiar kind of reminder that these decisions are rarely just about name recognition or cap space. Some players are looking first at fit, role and whether the organization feels aligned with what they want next.
Aaron Turner, Kumingas agent, said his client put the playing situation and organizational alignment ahead of contract length and money, which helps explain why the process unfolded the way it did. It also sheds light on why the Lakers were never quite enough on their own, even with their usual pull in these conversations. The larger surprise may be what happened before all of this, with Golden State never making a real push to keep Kuminga before moving on from him. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Suddenly Have A Finals Case Fans Can Actually Believe
Fred VanVleets return has given Houston something it did not always have last season, a steadier hand in the middle of the chaos. The combination of his playmaking and leadership has people around the game taking the Rockets a lot more seriously, especially with Kevin Durant and Marcus Smart now part of a roster that suddenly looks deeper and more battle-tested than the one that finished last year.
Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter both pointed to that mix as the reason Houston can credibly talk about a title run, and the Western Conference is going to force the issue quickly. The bigger question is no longer whether the Rockets have talent, but whether the pieces fit well enough to turn that talent into a team that can survive the grind of a playoff spring. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Missed On Jonathan Kuminga For A Reason Fans Will Debate
Jonathan Kumingas next stop came together with a little less drama than many around the league expected, even with the Lakers looming as a possible landing spot. Instead, the forward agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Timberwolves, a contract that includes a player option, according to his agent Aaron Turner. For a player whose market had been watched closely, the choice says plenty about how he is trying to map out his career at this stage.
Minnesota clearly sold him on opportunity, and Kuminga reportedly believed it was the best basketball situation for him. The Timberwolves are planning to start him alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, which gives him a chance to fit into a lineup with real talent around him right away. For teams like the Lakers, it is another reminder that name value does not always win out when a player is weighing role, fit and the path he sees in front of him. [Read more 🡒]