The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a well-documented pursuit of free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga. The Lakers' plan is reportedly to make Kuminga a starting forward, with a door seemingly remaining open for him to compete for the role of the No. 3 scoring option.
Though Kuminga makes an abundance of sense on the surface, Jovan Buha recently ask why the Lakers aren't going after a better option: P.J. Washington. It's a fair question.
For those who can't see the video, Buha said the following:
"Where I will criticize this is the potential of not going all in for a guy like P.J. Washington. I would do that in a heartbeat. And that to me would be a more all-in move that I would criticize them for not viewing as the right final piece."
Contract could play a factor here, as Washington has $88,762,439 coming his way over the next four years. That's a hefty price to pay for a player, particularly on a backloaded deal that will see him make $24,568,176 during the fully guaranteed final season on his deal.
The reality of acquiring Kuminga, however, is that the NBA's sign-and-trade rules require teams to give the players they acquire by such means a minimum of a three-year deal.
P.J. Washington over Jonathan Kuminga? Why not?
Yes, the Lakers could potentially make the second or third season of Kuminga's contract partially or even non-guaranteed. He's under no obligation to sign with Los Angeles, however, and could just as easily walk away from the negotiating table.
That's a realistic possibility, as Jake Fischer of The Stein Line has reported that Kuminga isn't interested in signing a contract for the sign-and-trade minimum of three years unless he feels it's a fair salary.
"It has also been stressed to me that Kuminga, to this point in free agency, isn't looking to be boxed into a three-year structure (as required by league rules to complete a sign-and-trade) at a number he deems below his market value."
Fischer also reported that Kuminga is optimistic that he could receive an offer in the range of what he believes to be fair value if he waits until later in the offseason to sign.
Is Jonathan Kuminga really a better option than P.J. Washington?
In other words: The Lakers could realistically end up paying Kuminga in the ballpark of what Washington is making, albeit for one less season. The counterpoint, however, would likely be that the Lakers will need to convince the Mavericks to complete a trade that centers around Washington.
That could prove to be a tall task on multiple fronts, particularly after Los Angeles infamously fleeced Dallas in the Luka Doncic trade.
There's a new regime in Dallas, however, and acquiring Kuminga would require Los Angeles to convince Atlanta to help them do so. Keep in mind: The Hawks are open to re-signing Kuminga to a one-year deal if they can't field an ideal sign-and-trade offer, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
The Lakers will thus face a similarly difficult path to acquiring Kuminga as they'd have to travel to trading for Washington. And thus, the basketball debate begins.
P.J. Washington has the skill set, experience to thrive with Luka Doncic
The instant differentiating factor is that Washington played with Doncic when the Mavericks made their run to the 2024 NBA Finals. He thrived as a lob target and floor-spacer, as well as a versatile defender who became a key supporting player alongside Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Kuminga has mountains of untapped potential, but his lackluster three-point shooting and history of defensive inconsistency are red flags compared to what Washington displayed next to Doncic.
Shooting is an unavoidable factor even if history is put aside, as Kuminga is a career 33.2 percent three-point shooter potentially entering a system with two ball dominant guards. Washington, meanwhile, is a career 35.4 percent three-point shooter who shot 38.1 percent as recently as 2024-25.
The logistics of an acquisition will clearly decide everything about what the right move is, but fixating on Kuminga seems to have erased a better option from the Lakers' purview.
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