The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly still in pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga. Though LA just signed athletic wing Ziaire Williams to a one-year, $3 million deal, Williams isn't the proven commodity that Kuminga is. The Lakers must feel like they would be truly taking care of their wing situation if they could sign Kuminga.
But the Lakers are ignoring some things about Kuminga amid all of this. First of all, he wants more money than the Lakers are offering. Specifically, it's been reported that Kuminga wants a yearly salary of around $25 million. The Lakers' recent offer was reportedly around $20 million over two years -- far, far away from what Kuminga is looking for. Do you really want to bring in a guy who is disgruntled from Day 1 about his salary?
Secondly, the Lakers are ignoring that Kuminga has caused chemistry problems for at least one -- and maybe two -- of his last two teams. When Kuminga was on the Warriors, he was constantly in headlines for being upset about his role. This caused headaches for Steve Kerr. And more recently, with the Hawks, Kuminga apparently didn't carve out a welcome spot in their locker room, either, seeing as Atlanta doesn't intend on retaining Kuminga moving forward.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst talked about Kuminga's potential red flags this week. Windy pointed out that there's a reason why Kuminga might be available for a lower price than expected.
Brian Windhorst spells out warning about acquiring Jonathan Kuminga
"If you can get Kuminga on a cheap contract, that's definitely an athleticism infusion," Windhorst said. "But I'll just point out about Kuminga ... two teams in the last year have moved on from him. And you did not see any team go commit any significant resources to get him. Now, that does not mean he will not have a great year. ... You just have to acknowledge and understand that there's a reason he could be available for relatively cheap."
The Lakers should steer clear of Jonathan Kuminga
It's easy to argue why the Lakers should stay out of the Kuminga business. They're hoping to get Kuminga on a cheap contract, but if that happens, the Lakers are immediately getting an unhappy player. That's not what you want in your locker room as you embark on a fresh, new era around Luka Doncic.
If Kuminga was a winning person to have in your organization, he wouldn't have caused so many issues with the Warriors. I get it -- the guy has just wanted to get paid. But the Lakers can't afford to pay him, so why get into this situation at all? Kuminga should sign with someone who has the cap space to make him happy (the Brooklyn Nets). Anyone who thinks they're going to sign Kuminga on the cheap and not run into issues is fooling themselves.
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