Jonathan Kuminga has quickly become one of the more intriguing names sitting in free agency, and the Bucks may be positioned to make the Lakers work for him.
The Lakers have been the busiest team in the market so far, adding four new players and showing real aggression in their pursuit of Kuminga. But Milwaukee is now being mentioned as a serious challenger, and NBA insider Jake Fischer said the Bucks are “looming as a team that’s got some Jonathan Kuminga interest.
I still think it’s plausible that he could go back to Atlanta. He could be signed and traded out of Atlanta… So Kuminga’s got an interesting market that he’s working through.”
That market opened after a strange turn of events for the 23-year-old forward. Kuminga had already gone through a long stalemate with the Golden State Warriors before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Then Atlanta declined his $24.3 million team option, pushing him into unrestricted free agency.
The Bucks have already shown signs they’d be willing to chase a player with Kuminga’s kind of upside. They were previously linked to him when rumors had Giannis Antetokounmpo heading to the Warriors, and even though that deal never happened, Milwaukee’s interest in an Antetokounmpo-like talent may still be alive.
What makes this interesting is the money and the room Milwaukee can offer.
The Lakers do have a path to Kuminga, at least in theory. They’ve already added Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes, and Collin Sexton, but those moves have tightened their 2026-27 payroll to $182.6 million, with that number set to rise depending on Mamukelashvili’s contract details.
Los Angeles is still under the $201 million tax line, but the margin is shrinking fast. With Mamukelashvili projected to make nearly $13 million per year, the Lakers would have about $5.4 million before hitting the tax and would sit $13.4 million under the first apron.
That leaves them with a tricky decision. In theory, they could give Kuminga a three-year, $36 million deal through the non-taxpayer MLE.
But that would hard-cap them at the first apron, and with just $1.4 million left and two roster spots still to fill, they’d likely need to move money elsewhere, possibly by waiving Jarred Vanderbilt, who is set to make $12.4 million. It’s workable, but messy.
Milwaukee, by contrast, has a cleaner path. The Bucks are in rebuild mode and looking to add star-caliber talent to their core.
With Tyler Herro and Kel’el Ware already in place, they can focus on finding the kind of young player who can grow into a bigger role. Kuminga fits that mold.
His numbers last season were modest - 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 0.6 steals per game, along with shooting splits of 46.3% from the field and 33.3% from three - but his physical tools and upside still make him a player worth betting on.
And Milwaukee may be better equipped to make that bet. After trading Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat, the Bucks created a $25.5 million trade exception. That gives them the flexibility to either absorb Kuminga in a sign-and-trade with Atlanta, as Fischer mentioned, or simply come in with a bigger offer, including a three-year, $75 million deal.
That’s the edge. If Milwaukee wants to outbid the Lakers, it can.
In the end, though, this comes down to what Kuminga wants. If the priority is money and a chance to grow into a featured player, Milwaukee looks like the better fit. If he wants to chase a title no matter what role comes with it, the Lakers still have plenty of pull.
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