The free agency craze is all but over, except for a few restricted free agents still remaining unsigned. Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, and Cam Thomas are the biggest names who are currently on the market. Their teams are obviously aware of the fact that there isn't much cap space left and are playing hardball with the RFAs. The Los Angeles Lakers need to take advantage of this reality and try to poach Kuminga from the Golden State Warriors.
Lakers Should Aggressively Pursue a Jonathan Kuminga Sign-and-Trade
NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported that the Warriors' offer for Kuminga topped out at two years, $40 million. While Golden State technically has the right to match any offer sheet for Kuminga, its unwillingness to give him a more lucrative deal suggests that they are willing to move on from him.
A sign-and-trade would be needed in this scenario since the Lakers don't have the cap space to sign him to an offer sheet. Fortunately, the Lakers have a number of midsize contracts like Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber, and Rui Hachimura that they can use to match salaries in a sign-and-trade. They would need to attach a first-round pick alongside a matching salary to entice the Warriors to make the deal, but this would be a worthy gamble for the Lakers.
Despite being in the league for four years, Kuminga has yet to turn 23. He has shown fascinating flashes on both ends of the floor. Even though his outside shot hasn't developed yet, he has elite athleticism and defensive versatility. He is not the most polished defender right now, but he can guard multiple positions, including the ballhandler. Offensively, he is a high-level driver and solid rim finisher with the size, strength, and athleticism that make him difficult to stop.
Considering the Lakers' desperate need for more quality wings and athleticism, it's hard to find a better fit than Kuminga. He would be an immediate upgrade over the wing options on the roster and can develop alongside Luka Doncic for years to come.
A trade offer including two of the aforementioned veterans and a future first-round pick should be enough for the Lakers to land Kuminga for around $25 million per year. Whether they can win the Kuminga bidding war among the reported interested parties like the Kings and the Suns is unclear, but the Lakers should certainly be aggressive in their pursuit of the high-upside free agent.