The Los Angeles Lakers‘ pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga has become considerably more defined.
It has also become considerably more complicated.
NBA insider Jake Fischer said Wednesday that any realistic scenario bringing the restricted free-agent forward to Los Angeles now must come through a sign-and-trade, effectively closing the door on the Lakers’ previously reported plan of signing Kuminga outright to a short-term contract.
Speaking during Bleacher Report’s livestream, Fischer said conversations between the Lakers and Kuminga’s representatives remain active despite Los Angeles filling its 15-man roster with the addition of Ziaire Williams.
“Jonathan Kuminga does remain one of the best unsigned free agents, not named LeBron James,” Fischer said. “We do know that the Lakers still hope to bring in Kuminga, even after signing Ziaire Williams to a one-year deal yesterday.”
“There has been a lot of dialogue back and forth between the Lakers and Kuminga’s representation.”
The framework, however, has fundamentally changed.
Lakers’ Original Kuminga Plan Is Off the Table
GettyJonathan Kuminga reacts during an Atlanta Hawks game. NBA insider Jake Fischer said the Lakers remain interested in Kuminga but suggested negotiations have lost momentum, with only a sign-and-trade remaining as the most realistic path.
Earlier this offseason, multiple reports indicated the Lakers hoped to create enough financial flexibility to sign Kuminga directly to a two-year contract worth approximately $20 million total.
That structure is no longer possible.
“It’s almost certainly going to be a sign-and-trade mechanism that gets Kuminga out of Atlanta,” Fischer said. “In accordance with league rules, that would almost certainly have to be a three-year deal bare minimum in order to make a sign-and-trade happen.”
Fischer added that the previously reported contract framework has effectively expired.
“So that original two-year, $20 million deal offer that was reported, I believe, by Khobi Price, that is no longer in the cards,” Fischer said. “Any deal that would bring Kuminga out of Atlanta would have to be a sign-and-trade.”
The comments represent the clearest indication yet that the Lakers’ pursuit has shifted from free-agent recruiting to trade construction.
Three Teams Must Now Find Common Ground
Even if the Lakers and Kuminga agree on contract terms, Los Angeles still must convince the Atlanta Hawks to participate in a deal.
That has proven to be the more difficult hurdle.
The Lakers possess limited trade assets after completing blockbuster deals for Luka Dončić and Walker Kessler over the past year. Their most valuable remaining draft asset is a 2032 first-round pick swap, along with three tradable second-round picks.
Salary matching presents another challenge.
Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht remain the most logical outgoing contracts, but previous reporting has suggested neither player has generated significant interest around the league.
Earlier this month, California Post’s Khobi Price reported that Los Angeles discussed a framework centered on Vanderbilt and the 2032 first-round pick swap.
Fischer later reported Atlanta had not expressed interest in taking back Vanderbilt, while The Athletic’s Dan Woike previously noted rival executives had shown limited enthusiasm for several Lakers veterans.
Financial Gap Still Remains
Fischer’s update comes one day after Lakers insider Jovan Buha reported Kuminga’s camp is seeking a contract much closer to $20 million annually than the Lakers’ initial valuation.
Buha said Los Angeles originally envisioned a two-year deal averaging roughly $10 million per season, while Kuminga’s representatives have pushed for a significantly richer, longer-term commitment.
A sign-and-trade eliminates any possibility of the Lakers revisiting that original proposal.
Under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, players acquired via sign-and-trade must receive contracts meeting the league’s minimum term requirements, meaning the discussions now revolve around a substantially different financial structure than the one Los Angeles initially preferred.
Despite those obstacles, Fischer made one point clear.
The Lakers’ interest in Kuminga has not diminished.
The only remaining question is whether Los Angeles, Kuminga and the Hawks can find a sign-and-trade framework that satisfies all three sides before one of the offseason’s longest-running negotiations finally reaches its conclusion.
Los Angeles Lakers’ Jonathan Kuminga Pursuit Gets Definitive Update