The Los Angeles Lakers have known for weeks that acquiring Jonathan Kuminga would require creativity.
They now appear to know what it may cost.
Speaking on the latest episode of Buha’s Block, Lakers insider Jovan Buha reported that Kuminga’s camp is seeking a contract much closer to $20 million annually than the financial framework Los Angeles had initially envisioned.
“My understanding is, again, the Lakers were comfortable at two years, $10 million a year,” Buha said. “That’s below non-taxpayer mid-level exception money. That’s a relatively team-friendly deal. Low risk on the Lakers’ side.”
According to Buha, that proposal never gained traction.
“I have heard that his camp is looking for closer to $20 million,” Buha said. “Doesn’t have to be exactly $20 million, but closer to that side of the ledger than the $10 million side of the ledger.”
The report provides the clearest explanation yet for why negotiations between the Lakers and Kuminga have failed to advance despite mutual interest.
Kuminga’s Price Changed the Equation
Earlier in free agency, the Lakers explored creating approximately $10 million in salary-cap space to sign Kuminga outright to a two-year contract worth about $20 million total, Buha reported.
Kuminga declined that framework, seeking both greater long-term security and a significantly higher average annual salary.
Since then, the Lakers’ offseason has moved forward.
Los Angeles officially re-signed Austin Reaves and added Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Kevon Looney and Ziaire Williams, pushing the club above the salary cap while filling all 15 standard roster spots.
Those moves effectively eliminated any path to signing Kuminga outright.
Instead, the Lakers now must rely on a sign-and-trade with the Atlanta Hawks if they hope to land the 23-year-old forward.
The collective bargaining agreement creates another complication.
Players acquired via sign-and-trade must sign contracts containing at least three guaranteed seasons before any option years, making the Lakers’ original preferred two-year structure impossible.
Buha said Los Angeles could theoretically construct a contract with non-guaranteed years later in the deal, but he does not expect Kuminga’s camp to accept that approach.
Instead, he suggested a middle ground could emerge.
“If it’s a three-year, $45 million deal and it’s $15 million per year, that’s right down the middle of what both sides want,” Buha said.
Hawks Must Also Agree to Deal
Even if the Lakers and Kuminga ultimately compromise on a contract, another major hurdle remains.
Atlanta has to agree to facilitate a sign-and-trade.
That may prove just as difficult.
The Lakers have limited draft assets after their last two blockbuster trades for Luka Doncic and Walker Kessler. Their most significant remaining asset is a 2032 first-round pick swap, along with three tradable second-round picks, two of which they acquired from Washington in the Deandre Ayton trade.
The most logical salary-matching contracts belong to Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht, but previous reporting suggests neither player has generated substantial interest around the league.
Earlier this month, Khobi Price of the California Post reported that Los Angeles had discussed a framework centered on Vanderbilt and the 2032 first-round pick swap.
Two days later, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported in The Stein Line that Atlanta had not considered taking back Vanderbilt in a Kuminga deal.
The Athletic’s Dan Woike also reported in June that rival teams had shown limited appetite for several Lakers veterans, including Vanderbilt. Fischer later added that the Lakers are not actively shopping Vanderbilt, indicating Los Angeles still values him internally despite his contract being viewed more as salary matching than as a standalone trade asset.
Knecht’s trade value has likewise become more difficult to project following an inconsistent campaign and the rescinded trade with the Charlotte Hornets last year.
Without a third team entering the negotiations or additional draft compensation, assembling a package attractive enough for Atlanta remains a significant obstacle.
Lakers Haven’t Changed Their Evaluation
None of those complications have altered how the Lakers view Kuminga.
ESPN insider Shams Charania reported Monday that Los Angeles “continues to strongly pursue Jonathan Kuminga as a potential starting forward” despite signing Williams to a one-year contract.
The interest remains strong.
The execution has become increasingly complicated.
Buha’s latest reporting suggests the first obstacle is financial, with Kuminga seeking a contract much closer to $20 million annually than the Lakers’ original proposal.
Even if the sides eventually meet somewhere in the middle, Los Angeles would still have to convince Atlanta to facilitate a sign-and-trade using limited draft capital and salary-matching pieces that have yet to generate significant leaguewide demand.
For the Lakers, identifying Kuminga’s asking price answered one important question.
Finding a way to meet it—and complete a deal—may prove far more difficult.
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