When NBA free agency officially kicked off this summer on June 30, the Los Angeles Lakers started pursuing forward Jonathan Kuminga. For many weeks, they continued to make attempts at landing him, and they continued to talk to the Atlanta Hawks about making a sign-and-trade deal for the 23-year-old.
In the end, however, Kuminga elected to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves this week. He reportedly agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal and will have the opportunity to replace some of the production they will lose as a result of trading three-time All-Star Julius Randle in July.
The Lakers, like Minnesota, offered Kuminga a starting role. According to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, they also offered Kuminga more money than he ultimately received
with Minnesota.
Kuminga chose the Timberwolves over offers from the Lakers, Bulls and Trail Blazers -- bypassing a similar starting role and $12M-plus annually over three years in L.A. to land in Minnesota for a shorter-term deal and an ability to have more control of his future, sources said. https://t.co/Nq9byvxkII
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 26, 2026
Brad Rowland of the "Locked on Hawks" podcast implied that the Atlanta Hawks, the team Kuminga last played for, simply didn't agree on the terms of a sign-and-trade with Los Angeles.
Of note, Kuminga did not “bypass” an 8-figure offer from the Lakers because, well, the Lakers couldn’t make that offer without a sign-and-trade that the Hawks didn’t want to do!
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) August 26, 2026
The Lakers simply don't have much in the way of attractive draft capital, and it is always possible they didn't want to give up much of it for Kuminga. There were reports that they offered packages centered around forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who is owed $12.4 million this coming season and is seen as a negative contract due to his offensive limitations.
More recently, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports wrote that discussions between the Lakers and Hawks had pivoted to Jaden Hardy, a guard the Lakers had acquired last month when they traded Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards.
While Kuminga is very athletic and a capable scorer and finisher, he has been a below-average 3-point shooter and an inconsistent defender for most of his five years in the NBA. He was originally the No. 7 pick in the 2021 draft by the Golden State Warriors.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Charania: Lakers offered Jonathan Kuminga more money than Timberwolves
