Jonathan Kuminga is one of the last sizable dominos that has yet to drop in free agency, and that could be a matter of figuring out what he wants more at this stage. If Kuminga prefers long-term security, the Los Angeles Lakers are the team to give him that. If the free agent forward wants to try this all over again next year, the Minnesota Timberwolves would be the team for him.
Jake Fischer suggested this situation is close to a resolution during a recent livestream for Bleacher Report. The NBA insider said this one still projects to come down to the Lakers and Timberwolves, and there is a slight preference between the two.
"Kuminga has seemed to prefer going to the Lakers. They have the most opportunity to negotiate there. Minnesota is just limited to signing Kuminga to the taxpayer mid-level [exception]. ... That's going to come to some type of conclusion here soon."
Fischer emphasized that he thought this one could have had a resolution last week, and there has been nothing to suggest any team apart from the Lakers and Timberwolves are in this race. It does sound like Kuminga is leaning toward the financial security that Los Angeles can offer, too.
Lakers give Jonathan Kuminga a level of comfort the Timberwolves cannot compete with
Over and over, a sign-and-trade has been suggested as the mechanism for how Kuminga ends up with the Lakers. That would start at a minimum of three years for the contract in question. This allows the athletic forward a fair degree of comfort moving forward.
Perhaps the market that ended up materializing was below what Kuminga expected. The 23-year-old was earning $23.8 million in the 2025-26, and was slated for $24.3 million in 2026-27 before the Atlanta Hawks declined his team option. His next deal projects to be much less than that.
Kuminga should be expecting anywhere between $10-$15 million on a yearly basis, depending on who the Lakers can send in the outgoing sign-and-trade package. Some combination of Jaden Hardy, Jake LaRavia, and Dalton Knecht could get both sides to where they need to be here.
That salary figure will be less than what Kuminga was just making, but it also keeps him safe from the unknown. With the Timberwolves, he could sign up for a one-year run and try again for a payday 2027 in free agency. There are no guarantees that goes well enough for him to get a bigger bag than what the Lakers are putting on the table now.
A successful run in Los Angeles can give Kuminga financial security now and then set him up to test free agency right as he enters his prime. There should be very little doubt as to why Fischer is reporting that path appearing as the preferrable one for the free agent.
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