The saga of the Lakers and Jonathan Kuminga has thus far been a long and fruitless one, and it has been long feared that would be the case. Back in the early stages of free agency, when it first was revealed that the Lakers had interest in landing Kuminga–they originally hoped to do so on a two-year, $20 million deal–word also came down that two other teams that were interested were the Cavaliers and Timberwolves, but only as a backup plan if those teams missed out on LeBron James.
The Lakers are still locked in a staring contest with Kuminga and his reps. And the Cavaliers are still interested in bringing Kuminga aboard, now that the James decision has been made. Oh, and, one more thing: Now, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reports that the Timberwolves also have an interest in adding Kuminga.
So, a month after free agency opened, with the Lakers, Cavaliers and Timberwolves all interested in adding Kuminga, we’re back to Square One, with the Lakers, Cavaliers and Timberwolves all interested in adding Kuminga.
Lakers Back Where They Started on Jonathan Kuminga
That’s not to say that nothing has changed. We’ve seen the Hawks, who still technically have Kuminga’s rights and can work a sign-and-trade deal for him, fill up their roster in the meantime and take themselves out of the loop to re-sign Kuminga. The Cavaliers have (nearly) signed Mario Hezonja from Europe, too, and the Lakers now have a packed roster.
But it was the Cavs and Lakers who were supposedly in the running for Kuminga on a sign-and-trade deal. The Timberwolves have gotten back in the mix with a much different approach: A short-term solution that allows Kuminga to rebuild some value and return to the market next summer.
Timberwolves Have ‘Interest’ in Jonathan Kuminga
From Scotto: “Amid active sign-and-trade interest from the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, along with the possibility of re-signing with the Atlanta Hawks, another suitor has expressed interest in free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga.
“After missing out on their pursuit of LeBron James, the Minnesota Timberwolves have also expressed interest in Kuminga with their starting power forward spot up for grabs and their $6.06 million taxpayer mid-level exception available for the taking, league sources told HoopsHype.”
Lakers Contract Would Go for 3 Years
To lay out the options that are either on the table, or could be on the table, for Kuminga, we’ll start with the Lakers.
The Lakers need a Hawks sign-and-trade. They can offer something in the range of $15-18 million for three years to Kuminga, but the complication is finding teams willing to take on the contract Jarred Vanderbilt (whom no one wants because he is on the books for two seasons) or two expiring/team option deals, like Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht. The Hawks don’t want any of those contracts. The Lakers would likely have to add all three of their second-round picks to pay off the Hawks as well as the third team to help them make a Kuminga deal.
The Cavaliers are in much the same situation–they have Max Strus and Dennis Schroder on hand, and would need the Hawks to trade for one of those players or find a third team to take one in a sign-and-trade. Their offer for Kuminga would be about the same as the Lakers’ offer.
But Kuminga would lock into a three-year deal in both of those situations–sign-and-trade contracts must be for at least three years under NBA rules. If Kuminga feels that he’d be underpaid at $15 million, he would not want to be stuck in a three-year deal. With no cap space left on the market here in 2026, Kuminga could try for 2027.
That’s the potential appeal of the Wolves’ offer: They can give Kuminga $6 million for one year (if they figure a way create some room under the second apron, which they’re within $4 million of hitting), let him shine on a contender, then tell him he is free to hit free agency in 2027, where he could potentially make a lot more.
Lakers Fighting Off New Suitor in Jonathan Kuminga Chase