Overview
- The market is stalled with Jonathan Kuminga unsigned and the Los Angeles Lakers viewed as the leading suitor after multiple reports on Tuesday showed the Lakers have kept up a long-running pursuit but have not closed a deal.
- Los Angeles has reportedly proposed a sign-and-trade that would pay Kuminga roughly $45 million and include Jarred Vanderbilt plus draft compensation sent to Atlanta, but the package still faces cap and roster barriers.
- Kuminga is seeking a salary in the roughly $20 million to $23 million range and has rejected one-year veteran-minimum ‘prove-it’ offers, which has sharply narrowed the list of realistic suitors.
- Rival moves have reduced competition: Cleveland has prioritized a potential Peyton Watson sign-and-trade and Atlanta reassigned Kuminga’s No. 00 and carries a 17-player roster, signals that the Hawks may not plan to re-sign him.
- Because sign-and-trades require matching outgoing salary and multi-year deals, the most likely ways this ends are a player concession on terms, a complex multiteam trade that clears cap room, or a late change in the market that creates new leverage.