Lakers may have to get creative to land Jonathan Kuminga

Jonathan Kuminga. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Lakers may have to get creative to land Jonathan Kuminga

By Ernesto Cova | Last updated Jul 8, 2026 11:08 AM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most aggressive teams early in the NBA offseason.

Despite having a flawed roster, JJ Redick's team showed signs of improvement in the second half of the season, and injuries cost it what could've been a deep postseason run. Considering that, the Lakers won't leave a stone unturned in their pursuit of talent to pair with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

That's why they may have to pay up to get projected target Jonathan Kuminga. According to Lakers insider Aron Cohen, they may have to complete a sign-and-trade to get him.

The Lakers will have to trade assets for Jonathan Kuminga

"The Lakers are trying to set up a sign-and-trade with Atlanta for Kuminga, a source tells me," Cohen shared on X. "It’ll cost them a combo of Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, Jarred Vanderbilt, and one of their second rounders. Cleveland is also a team with interest in Kuminga."

The Lakers are trying to set up a sign-and-trade with Atlanta for Kuminga, a source tells me.

It’ll cost them a combo of Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, Jarred Vanderbilt, and one of their second rounders.

Cleveland is also a team with interest in Kuminga.
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) July 7, 2026

That's a steep price to pay for a promising but unproven player who burned bridges with the team that drafted him and couldn't stay on his second team. Kuminga has the potential to be a two-way star, but the fact that the Atlanta Hawks are willing to move on from him after less than a year despite his youth and talent should be a bit of a concern.

The Lakers have already completed a pricey sign-and-trade this offseason, getting their big man of the future in Walker Kessler. They also signed Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Whether general manager Rob Pelinka thinks the former Warriors forward is worth that much remains to be seen, but the Lakers may have no choice here.

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto is a bilingual (English-Spanish) sports writer with over eight years of experience covering major leagues such as the NBA, NFL, and MLB. Ernesto’s work focuses on providing insightful, up-to-date coverage of sports, blending his expertise in sports psychology with a passion for analyzing player performance, team dynamics, and trade developments across various sports leagues

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