The Lakers have one open roster spot and they’re treating it like it matters. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the team has a $20 million offer out to Jonathan Kuminga, the former Golden State forward who’s still sitting in free agency without signing anywhere.
Kuminga hasn’t accepted anything yet. But McMenamin laid out the pitch L.A. is using.
“There’s one empty roster spot remaining. They view this final spot as a very important piece to their potential puzzle. They’re trying to pitch opportunity,” McMenamin said Wednesday. “You will come here, you’ll play on the biggest stage in basketball and you may have to take a pay cut for a year or two but you can get back into the big dollars.”
LeBron’s free agency is freezing things up
The problem for Kuminga isn’t just money. It’s LeBron James. James has made it clear he’s leaving L.A. and testing the market, which puts everything in a weird holding pattern. Jovan Buha, the Lakers insider for HoopsHype, put it bluntly: Kuminga is kind of a victim of the LeBron sweepstakes right now, and that’s freezing things to a degree.
So you’ve got a 23-year-old former lottery pick who can guard multiple positions and attack the rim, waiting on a 40-year-old legend to decide where he wants to play next season. That’s a strange spot to be in.
What Kuminga would actually bring
Let’s be real about what the Lakers would be getting. Kuminga is long, he’s athletic, and he’d give L.A. something they desperately need: size and energy in the frontcourt. He averaged 13.3 points and 4.1 rebounds last season for the Warriors, but the fit was never quite right in Golden State’s system. The Lakers think they can unlock more of what he can do, especially if he’s playing alongside Anthony Davis and whoever ends up filling the point guard minutes.
It’s not just about this season either. The Lakers have been trying to get younger for a while now, and Kuminga turns 24 in October. Pairing him with Austin Reaves and maybe a rookie or two gives L.A. something they haven’t had in years: a young core that doesn’t completely fall apart when LeBron sits.
Of course, the Timberwolves are also lurking. Minnesota has the cap flexibility to offer Kuminga more money up front, and they’ve shown interest. But the Lakers are betting that the stage, the spotlight, and the chance to be part of something immediate outweighs a slightly bigger check.
Kuminga’s camp hasn’t tipped its hand yet. The offer is on the table, the pitch has been made, and now it’s just a waiting game. A waiting game that won’t really start moving until LeBron decides where he’s playing next year.
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