The Los Angeles Lakers made a wave of transactions this week that quickly upended the team’s former roster, adding a new cast of characters–highlighted by center Walker Kessler–to go with star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. But as the dust settled on what the team got done this week, some glaring holes became pretty obvious on the roster. Most notable is that the team badly needs a big defensive presence on the wing.
That’s why the Lakers are directly connected to wo of the biggest free-agent names on the market this summer, Jonathan Kuminga of the Hawks and, in what would be a return engagement, Rui Hachiumra. Both players have been disappointed in their forays into free agency this week, without a real market for either developing. Neither player will get the full midlevel contract they were hoping for, and will probably accept a short-term deal for a sub-market number, with a chance to return to free agency next summer.
The Lakers have a chance to wriggle into that market. But they need to clear more space to do that.
Lakers Seeking to Dump Jarred Vanderbilt
The Lakers had $52 million in space after renouncing the rights to players like LeBron James and Hachimura, but spent that this week after free agency opened. Now, they want to create more space to re-balance a roster that is out of kilter.
Lakers insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic outlined on his podcast that the team has several options to create room. Dumping Jarred Vanderbilt and the $26 million over two years on his contract in a trade is the top option, and the fact that the Lakers acquired two second-round picks from the Wizards in the Deandre Ayton trade will boost their ability to do so.
Said Buha: “The Lakers have been looking to clear cap space for this starting wing/forward and Rui Hachimura and Jonathan Kuminga are the two obvious guys that have been linked to the Lakers. The Lakers are interested in either of them, and the way to get there—there are technically multiple ways to get there. But the two most straightforward ways to get there would be either dumping Vando …
“It would have to be a situation where they could just take on Vando, and they could send a heavily protected second-round pick or something to make it work. From the Lakers side, you’re attaching at least two seconds, if not potentially three seconds and a swap.”
Dalton Knecht Out Too?
But there is a cap-clearing measure that creates more room–and that is the Lakers’ preference, Buha added. That would finding a team (the Nets are really the only option) that can absorb both Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht, who is slotted at $4.2 million next season.
That gives the Lakers another $16 million to work with. But getting a team to take both won’t be easy.
“Honestly, they prefer to dump Vando and Dalton which would get you even more,” Buha said. “It would keep you under, fully clear that cap space to use all your cap space for all the moves that they’re making and then also have enough to sign Rui or Kuminga. To relatively market-competitive contracts somewhere potentially in that $12-13 million AAV. I would assume it ends up being a 1-plus1, where Rui or Kuminga gets a player option. …
“I’d prefer to get off Vando and Dalton if I am the Lakers.”
Lakers ‘Prefer’ to Cut Ties With 2 Veterans to Sign New Wing