The Los Angeles Lakers may have just caught a break in their long-running push for Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga has been on the Lakers’ radar for more than two months, and the team has stayed in the hunt as training camp approaches. The 23-year-old NBA champion is still sorting through his options, but one thing is clear: he is not interested in a veteran minimum deal.
“Jonathan Kuminga is not willing to sign with any team on a one-year prove-it deal at the veteran’s minimum. The Kings and Timberwolves recently expressed interest in Kuminga, but the minimum salary made negotiations a no-go. The Lakers remain the favorites to acquire Kuminga,” NBA reporter Evan Sidery posted.
Los Angeles has already put a sign-and-trade proposal on the table. According to Sidery, the Lakers’ offer would pay Kuminga around $45 million, with Jarred Vanderbilt and draft capital heading to the Hawks in the deal. Kuminga would need to sign for at least three years in a sign-and-trade arrangement.
“The Lakers have offered Jonathan Kuminga a contract via sign-and-trade that would pay him around $45 million. Los Angeles is willing to send Jarred Vanderbilt alongside draft capital to the Hawks for Kuminga, who must sign at least a three-year deal in sign-and-trade agreements," Sidery wrote.
Now, the situation around Atlanta may be tilting even more in the Lakers’ favor. With the other reported options for Kuminga apparently fading, his decision could be narrowing to Los Angeles or a return to the Atlanta Hawks. But the Hawks recently handed Kuminga’s No. 00 jersey to newly acquired Lou Dort, and Lake Show Life’s Svyatoslav Rovenchuk sees that as a meaningful signal.
“However, a short-term future in Atlanta where Kuminga plays on a one-year deal may be out of the question moving forward. That should be an encouraging sign for the Lakers that they have one less competitor to deal with in trying to secure themselves a starting-caliber forward for next season,” Rovenchuk wrote.
That leaves the Lakers in a stronger spot than they’ve been in during this chase. If Atlanta is no longer looking like a landing place, Los Angeles could be the lone real destination left in a sign-and-trade. And if Kuminga and his camp know that, the pressure to find common ground on contract terms could start to shift.
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Cleveland remains in the conversation too, and for a team trying to fortify its front line, that matters because the Cavs and Lakers are still seen as the most realistic places Kuminga could land. The most workable route appears to be a sign-and-trade, which keeps the door open even as the negotiations sit in a holding pattern and the next move is still unresolved. [Read more 🡒]