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.
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