The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly upped their contract offer to the $15-$16M range for Jonathan Kuminga, with a sign-and-trade framework in place with the Atlanta Hawks.
However, Kuminga prefers to sign a one-year deal if he’s unable to get his desired amount north of $20M, according to Front Office Sports’ Keith Smith. The only issue there is the CBA mandates a sign-and-trade deal to require the new contract to cover a minimum of three seasons or a maximum of four seasons.
While addressing the Lakers-Kuminga situation this week, Smith explained why Kuminga’s insistence on wanting a smaller contract could cost him millions.
“The challenge with Kuminga is that if he’s gonna take less money than what he wants, then he only wants to do it for a year,” Smith reported.
“He doesn’t want to do a three-year deal, and in order to do a sign-and-trade, he would have to have a three-year contract. That gets him stuck a little bit. He doesn’t want to be on a smaller contract that devalues himself.”
Lakers Trade Offer for Jonathan Kuminga
According to multiple insiders, Atlanta is prepared to pull the trigger on a sign-and-trade landing them Jarred Vanderbilt and a 2032 first-round swap. That swap represents the Lakers’ only remaining draft asset following their ambitious move to acquire Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz (which cost them two first-round picks and two swaps). The primary hold-up, however, reportedly lies on Kuminga’s end.
“For the Hawks, they are ready to go for something centered around Jarred Vanderbilt and outgoing draft capital,” Smith noted.
“It sounds like it’s on Kuminga’s side, where he wants a little bit more money.”
Is Jonathan Kuminga Worth it for Lakers?
In recent days, the Hawks’ willingness to acquire Vanderbilt — who has two years left on his deal — has reportedly changed after they landed Lu Dort from the Oklahoma City Thunder. As such, the Lakers may have to now part with a package of Jaden Hardy, Jake LaRavia and/or Dalton Knecht to make the money work in a sign-and-trade deal.
Several Lakers analysts warn against sacrificing valuable depth and a prized 2032 first-round swap for Jonathan Kuminga—a player who showed potential in Golden State and Atlanta but has yet to establish himself as a consistent contributor.
“The single biggest reason to second guess Kuminga’s fit with the Lakers is his history of erratic three-point shooting,” wrote Lake Show Life’s Maxwell Ogden. “Los Angeles plays heavily through Doncic and Austin Reaves, with the ball-dominant guards each displaying a preference to get downhill in order to initiate offense.
“If Kuminga struggles as a catch-and-shoot option, then the Lakers’ spacing could be compromised and neither Doncic nor Reaves will be positioned to play their preferred style on offense,” he added. “Kuminga is a career 33.2 percent three-point shooter who has converted at a rate of 33.6 percent or worse in four of his five NBA campaigns.”
Kuminga’s flaws notwithstanding, the Lakers have good reason to continue their pursuit of the Congolese forward. While they added Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams, they need to shore up their depth at the wing position, given that most of their free-agency additions — save for Walker Kessler — came in the form of offensively-skewed players. Notably, they added quality shooters like Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton and Sandro Mamukelashvili, but none of those players are known for defense.
Perhaps the Lakers feel Kuminga is worth the gamble due to his age and athleticism.
Lakers Get Major Jonathan Kuminga Update After Upping Contract Offer