One of the worst-kept secrets in the NBA is that the Lakers are searching for a two-way wing ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline. However, they reportedly aren’t willing to sacrifice the financial flexibility
that could await them this offseason unless they can “acquire a real needle-mover at the position,” according to longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein.
What if they could thread the needle by acquiring a two-way wing who doesn’t compromise that financial flexibility, though? Enter Jonathan Kuminga, who officially becomes trade-eligible on Jan. 15.
On Monday, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Lakers “did call Golden State about Kuminga” this past offseason when he was embroiled in a restricted free agency standoff.
“I’m told that the Lakers have likewise continued to monitor Kuminga’s situation while casting a wide net to try to find help on a very limited wing market,” he added.
Kuminga began this season playing well for the Warriors, so much so that head coach Steve Kerr initially told reporters that he had earned a starting spot moving forward. Roughly two weeks later, Kuminga was out of Kerr’s rotation entirely and has played sparingly since. Tony Jones of The Athletic said Monday that “there are multiple reasons that Golden State can’t wait to get him out of the building,” including his desire to become a star rather than accepting his current role on the team.
Kuminga signed a two-year, $46.8 million contract with the Warriors shortly before the qualifying-offer deadline this past fall, although his deal includes a $24.3 million team option for the 2026-27 season. If the Lakers traded for Kuminga and his fit with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves didn’t materialize as hoped, they could always decline his option and cut bait this offseason without compromising their cap-space outlook.
So, do the Lakers have the assets to swing a deal for Kuminga? It depends on what Golden State expects for him in return.
What a Kuminga trade could look like
The Lakers currently have $194.8 million in salary on their books, which leaves them roughly $1.1 million under the first apron. They are allowed to take back more salary than they send out in a trade, but they are hard-capped this season since they split their non-taxpayer mid-level exception between Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia. That means they can’t cross the $195.9 million first apron at any point between now and June 30.
Kuminga is earning $22.5 million this season. The only two Lakers players earning more than him are LeBron James, who has a full no-trade clause, and Dončić, neither of whom would be on the table for the Warriors. Reaves is earning only $13.9 million, but the Lakers also wouldn’t include him for Kuminga unless the Warriors added major sweeteners (i.e., multiple first-round picks).
Rui Hachimura ($18.2 million) would be the easiest match from a salary perspective, although the Lakers would still have to send out at least $3.2 million more in salary. They could accomplish that by including either Dalton Knecht ($4.0 million) or Jaxson Hayes ($3.4 million). If they aren’t willing to include Rui, they’d likely have to send out at least two of Jarred Vanderbilt ($11.6 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million), Maxi Kleber ($11.0 million or Ayton ($8.1 million).
The Lakers already owe their top-four-protected 2027 first-round pick to the Utah Jazz and their fully unprotected 2029 first-rounder to the Dallas Mavericks, so they can’t trade 2026, 2028 or 2030 first-rounders due to the Stepien Rule (although they could trade swap rights those years). They can trade either their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick ahead of this year’s trade deadline if they felt it necessary to sweeten their Kuminga offer. They’ve already traded all of their second-rounders through 2031, so they only have a 2032 second-rounder that they could offer as well.
The Warriors can’t realistically be expecting much for Kuminga at this point, although they likely wouldn’t want to take back any contracts that could extend beyond 2026-27. Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are all set to come off their books in 2027, so that could be their opportunity for a hard reset. With that in mind, they’d likely turn down any offer including Vanderbilt, who has a $13.3 million player option in 2027-28.
Hachimura is on an expiring deal and is knocking down 44.5% of his 4.1 three-point attempts per game this season. He could be a great fit alongside the Warriors’ trio and wouldn’t affect their long-term financial outlook unless they decided to re-sign him after this season. If the Lakers offloaded Vincent or Kleber onto a third team as part of the deal, they’d even be able to take back another $7 million or so in salary. Otherwise, if they ship out Knecht as the sweetener, they wouldn’t have much space under the first apron to sign someone to a prorated minimum deal.
Either way, the Lakers should have enough mid-sized contracts and draft capital to swing a Kuminga deal if they’re interested. The Warriors figure to canvas the league landscape in search of the best offer for him, but a deal structured around Hachimura’s expiring contract wouldn’t be a bad starting point if the Lakers are open to moving him.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.
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