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Lakers Pursue Jonathan Kuminga Through Complex Three‑Team Sign‑And‑Trade Proposals

Salary rules with depleted draft assets make a multi-team sign‑and‑trade the likeliest way for Los Angeles to offer Kuminga a larger contract than his declined option.

Overview

  • Recent trade frameworks published over the weekend propose moving Kuminga to the Lakers via three‑team deals that route salary and picks between Atlanta, Milwaukee and Los Angeles.
  • Those proposals include a reported four‑year, roughly $85.5 million contract for Kuminga and would send low‑cost center Jericho Sims to the Lakers while shipping Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia and future picks elsewhere.
  • Kuminga became an unrestricted free agent after Atlanta declined his $24.3 million option, which forces a sign‑and‑trade if the cap‑constrained Lakers want to offer him a richer deal than they can via cap room.
  • The Lakers’ earlier move to acquire Walker Kessler has left few tradable draft assets, so completing a Kuminga sign‑and‑trade would likely cost multiple picks and rotation players and reduce roster flexibility.
  • With talks unresolved, Los Angeles is weighing fallback targets and alternate multi‑team scenarios that would address its need for athletic wing defense and outside shooting if a Kuminga deal cannot be struck.