Lakers May Need to Abandon Jonathan Kuminga Plans After Latest Report

The Los Angeles Lakers have entered the slow part of the NBA offseason, with most teams around the league having already set the majority of their roster for the upcoming 2026-27 campaign.

Although the Lakers have 16 guaranteed contracts on the roster and will need to make a move before opening night to get down to the maximum of 15 players, rumors continue to swirl that the team is considering bringing in Jonathan Kuminga and another big man.

Jonathan Kuminga Pursuit ‘Stalled for Weeks’ for Lakers

As more time continues to tick away during the NBA offseason, it is looking less and less likely that Kuminga lands with the Lakers once the dust settles.

According to ESPN's Anthony Slater, the Lakers maintain their interest in Kuminga, but progress has stalled for weeks.

It has reached the second month of what has become a second consecutive prolonged Kuminga free agency process. The Lakers met with Kuminga in the early hours of free agency, pitching him on a high-minutes role for a high-profile fringe contender in desperate need of athletic help on the wing. The opportunity appealed to Kuminga, but the sign-and-trade contract offer (years, money, package going back to Atlanta) didn't satisfy all sides. The Lakers remain interested in him, league sources said, but movement toward a deal has remained stalled for weeks.

Even though the Lakers are offering a substantial role on the team, Kuminga clearly isn’t sold on the prospect of playing for Los Angeles, with the contract likely being the one thing holding him back.

Lakers Need to Move On From Jonathan Kuminga

Obviously, anything can change during the NBA offseason, as Kuminga could have a change of heart or decide Los Angeles is the best situation for him, but it seems like it is time for the storied franchise to move on.

Although Kuminga might be a great fit playing alongside Luka Doncic for the foreseeable future, he does seem to come with a fair amount of baggage.

Two teams gave up on the young forward before he was put in this situation this summer, with the Golden State Warriors trading before last season’s NBA trade deadline and the Atlanta Hawks decided not to exercise his team option for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent.

That’s a telling sign that he might be difficult to deal with or at least not worth the trouble, even though he’s a talented high-flyer with a lot of potential.

Perhaps the Lakers should focus on trading for Klay Thompson or P.J. Washington, both of whom have experience playing with Doncic.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens moving forward and if the Lakers brass have finally grown tired of all that comes with trying to land Kuminga.

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