The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most aggressive teams in the NBA offseason.
JJ Redick’s team found their center of the future in Walker Kessler, also bringing back Austin Reaves and adding solid role players like Collin Sexton.
They’re reportedly keeping tabs on Jonathan Kuminga, and while they’re not the only team in the mix to sign him, they might be his most serious suitor.
Nevertheless, even if Kuminga does join the Lakers, he’ll likely wait until after LeBron James announces his decision. According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, that situation is still holding up free agency.
Jonathan Kuminga will likely sign after LeBron James
“Potentially, Kuminga gets like a heads up that, ‘Hey, we’re not interested in you, or it’s not going to work out here.’ Then maybe he proceeds at that point,” Buha said. “But I think it will likely be after the LeBron situation is resolved, which could be tomorrow or go into next week.”
Kuminga finally got traded last season, but he failed to establish himself as a steady contributor or a starter for the Atlanta Hawks.
The fact that they turned down his player option and allowed him to test unrestricted free agency after such a brief time with the organization can be a bit of a red flag.
Nevertheless, he hasn’t even reached his prime, is a former lottery pick, and has flashed the potential to be a two-way star if given enough opportunities.
Whether he’ll get the type of role he wants next to two ball-dominant players like Doncic and Reaves remains to be seen, but he can turn out to be an absolute steal of a signing if Redick can figure out how to use him better than Steve Kerr and Quin Snyder.
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