Jonathan Kuminga Is Stuck in Free Agency Limbo the Lakers Cavs and Wolves All Want In
Jonathan Kuminga is one of the best young forwards in the NBA. He is also unsigned, unmoved, and running out of time to find a home for next season.
Kuminga’s free agency saga has been the strangest story of the summer. He became an unrestricted free agent after the Atlanta Hawks declined his $24.3 million player option for 2026-27. Since then, he has been in ongoing talks about a new contract or a sign-and-trade, and nothing has materialized nearly a month into the process.
Three teams are actively pursuing him: the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. All three have different mechanisms for adding him. All three have different asking prices. And all three are running into the same central problem, which is that Kuminga wants more money than any of them want to pay.
The Lakers have offered a two-year, $20 million deal, according to reporting. That is well short of Kuminga’s asking price of $20 million-plus per year. Rob Pelinka has been calling personally to make his pitch, but the Lakers have not made the kind of financial commitment that gets a deal done.
The Cavaliers have similar interest. They need frontcourt depth alongside James Harden, who remains unsigned partly because Cleveland is trying to stay under the first apron of roughly $209 million. If they can pull off a Kuminga sign-and-trade without exceeding the apron, it makes sense. If not, they are stuck.
The Timberwolves are the wild card. Minnesota has a taxpayer mid-level exception of $6.06 million. That is well below what Kuminga wants annually, but it comes with an important wrinkle: if he signs it, he can hit unrestricted free agency again next summer. That is the “prove-it” play. Bet on yourself, have a big year, and cash in for real in 2027.
The central sticking point is length. According to NBA insider Keith Smith, Kuminga can only be traded if he signs a three-year deal. But Kuminga wants a one-year contract if he has to take less money than he thinks he deserves. Those two things are in direct conflict.
The Hawks, meanwhile, are still involved. They control Kuminga’s rights for sign-and-trade purposes. They are reportedly asking for one high-level player and a first-round pick in return for facilitating a deal. None of the interested teams have offered that so far.
The result is a stalemate. Kuminga is 23, a former lottery pick, a young NBA champion with Golden State. He should be one of the most in-demand pieces of the summer. Instead he is sitting there with his agent hoping something breaks.
Something has to give. Kuminga cannot stay in this limbo forever. Training camp opens in late September. If he wants to be with a team for camp, he has to sign somewhere soon.
The most likely outcome, at this point, might be the Timberwolves’ one-year option. Bet on himself. Prove he can be a starter for a good team. Come back next summer with real leverage. That path is not what Kuminga’s agent hoped for, but it might end up being the best available option.
Either way, this saga is going to end. And whichever team gets him is going to have a real player.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
