1 new frontrunner has emerged to sign Jonathan Kuminga

Jonathan Kuminga might be getting the opportunity to reunite with Kenny Atkinson.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the team most-often connected right now to the free agent forward Kuminga, Dan Woike of The Athletic reported on Monday. Woike notes that Kuminga’s market otherwise “remains tepid” at the moment.

Kuminga, the 23-year-old former NBA champion, is still unsigned roughly three weeks into official free agency. The Atlanta Hawks turned down his $24.3 million team option earlier this offseason, and Kuminga’s market remains in an apparent holding pattern at the moment.

The Los Angeles Lakers were the team previously thought to be the frontrunners for Kuminga. But word emerged earlier in the day Monday that negotiations for the Lakers to acquire Kuminga have stalled out.

Meanwhile, the Cavs are an extremely interesting case. They are led by their head coach Atkinson, who previously coached Kuminga on the Golden State Warriors as an assistant, and they do have a gaping need at the forward spot after losing Dean Wade in free agency to a rival team.

Cleveland continues to pursue LeBron James, and they also still need to formally re-sign James Harden to a new deal. Thus, any potential move for Kuminga would almost certainly have to be a sign-and-trade Atlanta, and that could help Kuminga, a 12-ppg scorer last season, get closer to his desired number in free agency.