The Los Angeles Lakers are not done wheeling and dealing this offseason, despite already completely remaking their roster around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The clear need is a starting-caliber wing, which is why the primary focus has been Atlanta Hawks free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
The Lakers and Kuminga have expressed mutual interest ever since the Hawks declined his $24 million team option. However, a deal has not gotten done for several reasons. It would have to be a sign-and-trade agreement, for one, requiring that at least the Hawks and Lakers like the terms. But Kuminga also has to agree to the final contract he ends up with, and that has reportedly been a barrier, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer:
Sources say that the Lakers would still like to sign Kuminga and make him their starting small forward … provided that the 23-year-old is ultimately willing to accept a contract structure on the Lakers’ terms.
Will the two sides be able to find a middle ground? The risk for the Lakers, of course, is that Cleveland has not gone away and who knows if a new Kuminga suitor or two materializes should the summer drag on without a resolution.
I have been repeatedly told by league sources familiar with the teams’ dynamic that the Lakers and Hawks never held meaningful discussions on a sign-and-trade proposal that would have landed Kuminga with the Lakers in exchange for Jarred Vanderbilt and a 2032 first-round pick swap. It has also been stressed to me that Kuminga, to this point in free agency, isn’t looking to be boxed into a three-year structure (as required by league rules to complete a sign-and-trade) at a number he deems below his market value.
There’s optimism within the Kuminga camp, even after last summer’s seemingly interminable wait for a new deal with Golden State in restricted free agency, that there could be more movement and more earning potential as the offseason unfolds.
The Lakers are limited in the types of contracts they can offer Kuminga, both in terms of years — sign-and-trades must be a minimum of three years long — and in terms of dollars, based on the matching salary they’d have to send out being above the cap.
For example, if the Lakers were to trade Jaden Hardy and Dalton Knecht to get Kuminga, the highest Year 1 salary they could offer him is $17,701,080, a bit below the $20 million he’s seeking. That trade would also require the Hawks — or a third team — wanting to take on one or both players.
The Kuminga situation, for the second summer in a row, will be one of the more interesting stories that gets dragged late into the summer. Kuminga did not ink his contract with the Golden State Warriors last summer until Sept. 30, 2025.
Lakers officially sign Matisse Thybulle
The Lakers have done well collecting bargain wings off the free agent market, including the acquisition of Matisse Thybulle on a one-year contract. Neither him nor Ziaire Williams are likely to start, but both provide quality wing depth on both ends of the floor.
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