The Los Angeles Lakers are the latest team to be attached to Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga in trade rumors.
Lakers Emerge As Trade Destination For Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga
“The purple-and-gold’s known preference at this deadline is to acquire a true 3-and-D wing with size if possible to provide some point-of-attack resistance on the perimeter as well as some shooting,” The Stein Line insider Jake Fischer reports, “but it must be said the Lakers, according to sources, did call Golden State about Kuminga during the sides’ summer standoff in restricted free agency. 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.”
Last week, Yahoo Sports writer Kevin O’Connor reported that the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers “have been linked to” Kuminga. The Sacramento Kings have been regarded as potential suitors since the 2025 offseason. Considering the Warriors’ interest in bringing in long-distance deadeye Michael Porter Jr., the Brooklyn Nets are a potential landing spot as well.
One Team’s Trash Is Another Team’s…
Kuminga’s value has been diminished by a steady string of DNP-CDs, the former seventh overall pick only suiting up for 18 games this season. Strangely, he and Golden State got off on a good foot despite a tense offseason. In the first five games of the season, the Warriors went 4-1 as he averaged 16.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. His decision-making, playmaking, defensive impact, and rebounding effort were all being praised. He was even shooting 43.8% from 3.
Then, Golden State’s offense began to sputter and they went 2-5 over their next seven games. At the same time, Kuminga’s long-ball stopped dropping (he went 5-20 from 3 in that stretch). Unsurprisingly, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr considered him to be the black sheep of the starting lineup, lamenting their spacing. Upon being demoted to the second unit, Kuminga felt scapegoated. Having appeared in just four games since Nov. 12, his eventual departure now feels like an inevitability.
Keeping that in perspective, the Lakers are unlikely to go above and beyond to bring the 23-year-old on board. He already doesn’t have the 3-and-D skillset that Los Angeles is said to be looking for. Furthermore, there’s only so much value a franchise can extract from a player that other organizations don’t even believe they want. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. only needs to ask himself one question:
Why should the Lakers give up truly valuable assets for a player that they have glued to the bench?
Why Should The Lakers Trade For Jonathan Kuminga?
What makes Kuminga a player L.A. should be interested in is the fact that he isn’t exactly what they’re looking for.
He does have the potential to be a reliable, big-bodied defender. He should still be able to thrive alongside their primary facilitators LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. As he isn’t a consistent catch-and-shoot threat, it isn’t about how he operates off drive-and-kicks. Instead, he’s a high-level cutter who’s tremendous in transition.
More important than that though is how he can generate unassisted points for the second unit. To that point, the Lakers rank 30th in bench points per game (24.9), by far. This likely isn’t enough reason to trade one of their exiguous first-round picks. However, it could be motivation enough to trade Rui Hachimura, who may soon be coming off of the bench himself.
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