The Los Angeles Lakers are a known suitor for Jonathan Kuminga. Unfortunately, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently reported that the list of teams that are vying for Kuminga is growing. That has thus created the realistic possibility that Los Angeles will be unable to complete a sign-and-trade for Kuminga.
In the event that Kuminga ends up elsewhere, the Lakers would have a glaring void at forward—and embattled forward Jake LaRavia would end up right back where he was a season ago, plugging holes despite his flaws.
There was a time during the 2025-26 season when LaRavia represented hope for the future. He brought energy and intensity on defense, and played invaluable minutes in place of a laundry list of injured Lakers wings.
Appearing in all 82 regular season games, LaRavia's mere presence in the rotation was an invaluable piece of Los Angeles' puzzle.
Unfortunately, LaRavia lost his jump shot and perhaps inevitably became all but unplayable during the playoffs. His inability to convert open looks resulted in his minutes declining from 25.1 per game during the regular season to just 14.3 during the postseason.
For as alarming as that may be, if the Lakers can't acquire Kuminga, then LaRavia will be the safest bet to step into the starting lineup in 2026-27.
Lakers' limited options could make Jake LaRavia a necessary starter
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are locked in as starters along the perimeter, while Walker Kessler can be written in with permanent marker at center. The question marks are the positions next to them, with at least one of Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili likely to get the nod given the fact that they both signed lucrative four-year deals with the Lakers earlier this summer.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported earlier this week that the Lakers want to start Kuminga at forward, however, which poses the question: Which other forward could take his place?
Grimes could conceivably start next to Doncic and Reaves, but given that Mamukelashvili is more of a stretch 5 who can play spot minutes at the 4, a void would remain. Los Angeles needs a forward who can provide size and athleticism along the wings, and ideally knock down open shots.
LaRavia may not perfectly fit that description, but the Lakers don't exactly have the list of options one might dream of to fill the void.
Is there really a better option than Jake LaRavia on the roster?
Cameron Carr has all of the tools to be an impact player with extreme potential, but he's also a rookie. As such, no one truly knows how ready he is to play meaningful minutes just yet. Adou Thiero has immense upside, as well, but he played just 6.0 minutes per game in 2025-26.
Matisse Thybulle is a proven commodity as a lockdown defender and efficient shooter, but he's played 45 games between the past two seasons. Ziaire Williams has immense upside as an athletic 6'9" wing defender, but he's an unrefined shooter in his own right.
As such, LaRavia is as much of a candidate to start today as he was when the likes of Rui Hachimura and LeBron James were missing time in 2025-26. He did, after all, start 43 games on a 53-win team last season.
One simply can't help but wonder: Can he rediscover the jump shot that he utilized to shoot 42.3 percent from beyond the arc in 2025-26? Or is he actually the 32.1 percent shooter that he became in 2025-26?
Regardless of what the answer is, Los Angeles' current roster construction could make him a starter nevertheless.
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