Things didn't work out between the Golden State Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga. That saga has already been well-chronicled.
Although the slashing forward showed flashes of offensive brilliance during his time in Golden State, he failed to put his game together over the duration of his rookie contract. Starting opportunities were limited due to his lack of floor-spacing capabilities, and Steve Kerr couldn't fully trust him off the bench because of his lack of rebounding and defensive soundness.
By the time the Warriors decided to move on from Kuminga, his value was so depleted that it needed to be packaged in a trade for Kristaps Porzingis, who was essentially dead salary at the time for the Atlanta Hawks. Perhaps Porzingis will turn out to be an adequate return for the Warriors, but that's largely besides the point.
Now, Kuminga will need to survey his options on the market this offseason, as Atlanta declined his team option for 2026-27. NBA Insider Marc Stein reported on Thursday afternoon that the Los Angeles Lakers continue to show interest in the former Warriors forward, along with a small grouping of other teams.
The Lakers obviously face financial constraints but league sources say they continue to explore the feasibility of adding Jonathan Kuminga to fill a wing need.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 2, 2026
Cleveland and Milwaukee have also expressed Kuminga interest and a return to Atlanta has not been ruled out. pic.twitter.com/at1Q99RgCb
While any of these teams would represent an NBA lifeline for Kuminga, the Lakers present a dangerously strong opportunity for the 23-year-old slasher.
The Los Angeles Lakers would be a perfect fit for Jonathan Kuminga given the circumstances
The most frustrating part about Kuminga's tenure in Golden State was that the potential was always there. It simply felt like he was too far away from it being realized to truly make an immediate impact for the team.
But the Lakers, now that they've spent the cap space afforded to them by the departure of LeBron James, are largely out of options to add talent on the wings. Since the start of free agency, they've orchestrated a massive sign-and-trade for former Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, and they've also added Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, and Sandro Mamukelashvili to the roster.
That leaves them with more talent than they once had in the backcourt and at center, but they still possess very little offensive punch at their two forward spots. If the season were to start today, it's possible that both Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt would start in the frontcourt.
LaRavia averaged 8.2 points on 45.9% shooting from the field in 2025-26. Vanderbilt averaged 4.4 points on 47.1% shooting.
Kuminga, arguably, offers more offensive upside than both of those players combined, even with his issues as a floor-spacer and a tunnel-vision downhill driver.
As Stein notes, the Lakers would likely need to do some cap acrobatics to fit Kuminga's contract onto their books. Although Kuminga likely won't command the $24.3 million salary that was available to him via his team option, but they likely won't want to spend all of the roughly $14 million they have remaining between them and the first apron on Kuminga.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks would present solid options as well. Cleveland has a hole in their frontcourt after the departure of Dean Wade, and Milwaukee's roster is about as wide-open as it gets after the trade of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But in terms of fit and opportunity, Los Angeles could easily be Kuminga's best path this offseason.
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