Jonathan Kuminga has become one of the top targets on the Los Angeles Lakers’ watchlist in the 2026 free agency. But the Lakers need to create some salary cap space to make a competitive offer to Kuminga that he will be willing to consider.
Amid the growing uncertainty over where Kuminga is headed next, the NBA insider Jake L. Fischer has revealed the salary-figure which Jonathan Kuminga is expecting his next contract to reach. He sat down with Marc Stein, another NBA insider, on the Bleacher Report livestream at the Summer League in Vegas tonight.
“I do believe that Kuminga is looking for something more than that $25 million ballpark that he landed last year from Golden State,” Fischer said. “Quite frankly, I find it difficult to imagine he’s going to find that number on this marketplace.”
“If he can get 20 over two at this point in the summer, given where the other cap space?” Stein responded. “There’s no cap space left anywhere, really.”
Fischer also confirmed our previous report that the Lakers initially offered him a two-year, $20 million deal on multiple occasions. But the Hawks forward has clearly turned them down.
The athletic forward spent a significant portion of the 2025-26 season on the bench for the Warriors before he was eventually traded to the Hawks. He ended the year averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while going 46.3% from the field and 33.3% from behind the three-point line in 36 games played.
It has been reported that the Hawks rejected his $24.5 million team option to help him find a new home and facilitate his move through a sign-and-trade. But the front office does not seem to consider him worth that value in the first place.
Meanwhile, Kuminga still expects that he will get a contract worth nearly $25 million per year in annual average value. The Lakers, the Bucks, and the Cavaliers are the teams that have reportedly been interested in signing Kuminga.
The Lakers have only one roster spot left. The Cavaliers still need to figure out what to do about James Harden and their potential interest in signing LeBron James before they even think about the 23-year-old.
The only team that could realistically make salary cap room for Kuminga is the Bucks, who will have to waive a few players to make it happen. But they are a new rebuilding team that lacks an identity in the aftermath of trading Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Unless Kuminga picks money over competing for a championship, the Lakers seem to be the most desperate in terms of needing Kuminga in their starting lineup. But the Lakers will have to convince a reportedly unwilling Hawks team to indulge in a sign-and-trade with them, per Fischer.
Therefore, while I expect that even though the Lakers will lead this pursuit, I highly doubt any team would meet the salary expectations that Fischer is reporting for Kuminga in his upcoming contract.
