Helping Facilitate A Sign-And-Trade For Jonathan Kuminga To Land With The Lakers Isn't In Atlanta's Best Interest

The NBA offseason has slowed down considerably over the last week and it seems like there are only a handful of transactions that could happen that could make a real difference in the league.

One of the top players who is still out there is Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga was traded to the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline in February, and after missing some games with an injury, he stepped into a role with Atlanta and became the top bench option for the team. However, his $24.3 million team option for the upcoming season was declined last week, and he is now an unrestricted free agent.

The market has been slow on Kuminga so far and it is pretty clear that he is not going to be making the same amount of money that he made last season and won't be getting a contract worth the same amount as the one he signed with the Warriors.

Some suitors are starting to emerge though and the most prominent has been the new look Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are reshaping their team around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and have made a host of additions to their team, but have a couple of roster spots open, but not much money left.

It has been reported that the Lakers hold a lot of interest in Kuminga and would like to sign him. There are a few complications to that however.

The Lakers could opt to try and attach some second round picks to get off some contracts they have while not taking back money in return. Players like Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and Jake LaRavia would be salary dumped somehwere so the Lakers could have the room to sign Kuminga outright.

If Los Angeles was not able to accomplish that, they could try to sign Kuminga to the vet minimum for a year, give him a large role, and then try to work out something next summer.

The other option is where the Hawks come in. The Lakers could try, and work out a sign-and-trade with Atlanta, but I think that should be a non-starter for Onsi Saleh and this front office.

Why the Hawks should avoid doing this with the Lakers

Jonathan Kuminga Atlanta Hawk — Mar 1, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga (0) dunks against the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For a sign and trade to occur, both teams have to agree to it. Under Saleh, the Hawks have been one of the most opportunistic teams in the NBA when it comes to trades, but they have been the clear beneficiary in most of their transctions. Atlanta has not taken on bad contracts in deals and they don't want to make a deal that does not benefit them at least a little bit.

The Hawks are already in a roster crunch as it is. Atlanta currently has 16 standard contracts on their books and if they did a sign and trade with the Lakers that brought them back two or more players, they would be near 20 and NBA teams can only hold 15 standard contracts on their books when the season begins.

More importantly, the Lakers don't have anyone that would be enticing for the Hawks to roster. Any player the Hawks could realistically acquire from Los Angeles would not make a big difference on their roster and would likely not be a part of the rotation. Likely available players from the Lakers include Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy, Jake LaRavia, or even this year's first-round pick Cameron Carr.

Vanderbilt has two more years left on his contract, including a $13.3 million player option for next season and he has not been a reliable NBA rotation player for the Lakers. Atlanta also has Jalen Johnson, Mouahmed Gueye, Asa Newell, and Zuby Ejiofor at the forward spot and would likely rather see those guys play than give importat minutes to Vanderbilt.

Knecht has been largely unplayable in the NBA through two seasons, Hardy has been a fringe rotation player in his career, and while LaRavia is a player that I like and has been a useful rotation player (who happens to be on an expiring contract), he would not be a clear upgrade over anyone on the Hawks.

The Hawks had a chance to draft Carr a couple of weeks ago, but passed on him to draft Ejiofor.

Could the Hawks try, and rope in other players to include with Kuminga in a sign and trade with the Lakers? Possibly, they have Buddy Hield and Corey Kispert on the roster, and neither is expected to be a major impact player next season for the Hawks. Still, the difference between those players and the ones that the Hawks could bring in is pretty negligible.

Could the Lakers clear space and sign Kuminga or convince him to take a minimum salary? It is possible, but I think those are more plausible options than convincing the Hawks front office to do a sign and trade with them.

The Hawks should always look at opportunities to improve their roster, but a sign and trade with the Lakers is not in their best interest.

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