The Los Angeles Lakers and their fans have waited patiently for the Jonathan Kuminga saga to sort itself out. The Lakers were connected to the free agent forward as early as the first week of July. Skip ahead and August is almost over, but this offseason drama is not.
Perhaps Jaden Hardy can finally help bring a much-needed change of pace to the situation. Earlier in the offseason, the Lakers were trying to unload Jarred Vanderbilt's contract in the sign-and-trade to land Kuminga, but the Atlanta Hawks were not interested.
Including Vanderbilt in the deal may be too difficult with the lack of willing takers for the remaining two years on his deal. Hardy, on the other hand, is owed $6 million in 2026-27 and has a team option for 2027-28 at the same value. That is a much more doable starting point. It is also where NBC Sports's Kurt Helin suggested talks were at.
"The Lakers and Hawks are talking sign-and-trade again, with guard Jaden Hardy reportedly in the conversation (he makes $6 million this season), while previously that was Jarred Vanderbilt ($12.4 million). "
Lakers have an easier route to landing Jonathan Kuminga with Jaden Hardy
Helin's speculation lines up with what NBA cap guru Yossi Gozlan had to say on the matter of a Kuminga sign-and-trade recently. Gozlan thought some combination of Hardy, Jake LaRavia, and Dalton Knecht presented a more workable outgoing package to get this one done.
Unlike what would be the case with Vanderbilt, one would imagine far less need to attach draft capital in an effort to get this one across the finish line. That is good news for an asset-starved team like the Lakers.
Pairing Hardy together with Knecht gets Kuminga a low-end, double-digit yearly salary figure. Considering how late into the offseason we are, that is a good figure for a player who may have overestimated his market and value.
Helin also suggested Kuminga likes the idea of playing the four for the Lakers. Considering the need at the spot for the team, that works out well for both sides.
It is tough to truly gauge the exact credibility of everything Helin is saying here, but it does line up with a lot of what has been known to this point. The specific inclusion of Hardy as the vehicle to jumpstart the Kuminga sign-and-trade is the new info that needs to be weighed.
Should it prove true, the Lakers could be pretty darn close to finally seeing a proper end to the major overhaul of their team. The hunt for a starting forward and trimming the roster down to 15 have been two major talking points throughout the latter stages of the offseason.
Finally landing Kuminga could put a bow on both of those things.
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