The Los Angeles Lakers are still very much interested in bringing on forward Jonathan Kuminga as a free agent, but the way things unfolded this weekend, that might not be so easy.
Or maybe it is.
There are two ways to look at the fact that the Hawks traded for rugged defensive wing Lu Dort on Sunday, from a Lakers perspective. For one thing, it probably takes off the table a sign-and-trade deal that would allow the Lakers to send a combination of unwanted contracts (Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, Jaden Hardy in 60 days) plus a pick swap or a second-round pick to Atlanta in a Kuminga deal.
The Hawks have too many players after adding Dort–they no longer are interested in the Lakers’ back-end deals, if indeed they ever were to begin with. This is of significant interest for the Lakers, though, if it means that Kuminga can’t be signed-and-traded but will need to find his next team via a free-agent deal.
Lakers Would Struggle to Make a Jonathan Kuminga Sign-and-Trade
That would seem to put the Lakers out of the mix for Kuminga, without adding a third team that can absorb salary and give the Hawks a reason to make a sign-and-trade. Again, the Lakers are almost devoid of draft compensation, with only a pick swap in 2032 and three future second-rounders–in 2031, 2032 and 2033–in their draft asset cabinet.
Teams are not falling over themselves to take on Vanderbilt’s contract in exchange for a couple of future second-rounders. The Hawks have already declined to do so, and the addition of Dort only firms up that resolve. The Hawks would need draft compensation to get involved in such a deal, and the third team would need draft compensation as well. The Lakers don’t have enough
Lakers Might Need Jonathan Kuminga to Take a Minimum Deal
Without a sign-and-trade, the Lakers are just not in a position to give Kuminga anything more than a minimum contract as a free agent. The only way they could get him in that scenario is if he is desperate enough to value the exposure of playing for the Lakers, and the fact that he would be a starter on a good team. There’s not much more to pitch to him.
The Lakers used their room exception on Collin Sexton, and do not have the bi-annual exception on hand. If the Lakers want Kuminga, they have to scour for a third team, or hope he has overplayed his hand and would accept a veteran minimum deal.
Longshot Possibilities
That’s a longshot. But it is a possibility the Lakers will need to cling to, and it is not completely implausible. The other options are thin. The Lakers could sign oft-injured Matisse Thybulle. There have been rumblings of trading for Dallas’ PJ Washington, but the Lakers don’t have a credible offer to make, and his contract is hefty.
Fact is, there are not all that many teams still interested in Kuminga, which means he will need to weigh a possibility he already rejected earlier–taking a small deal in 2026-27 with the hopes of opting out and getting a bigger deal in the summer of 2027, when there will be more cap space on the market.
The Lakers offered him that opportunity with a two-year, $20 million contract he could have signed as a free agent. He turned that down. Now, Kuminga will have a hard time drumming up a similar offer, especially if the Hawks shut down the possibility of a sign-and-trade. He might need to simply take a midlevel or bi-annual deal if he can get one, and try again next year.
Or he might have to take a minimum. If so, that’s where the Lakers could come in. But that’s a big “if.”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Lakers Hoping Jonathan Kuminga Gets Desperate After Trade News appeared first on HEAVY.