LeBron James has departed the Los Angeles Lakers and Rui Hachimura could follow suit. The franchise needs to find replacements at the forward position, and that could ironically lead Rob Pelinka and the front office to former Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga.
Could the Lakers lose James to the Warriors and then sign Kuminga as his replacement? That's an outcome that's certainly on the table as a possibility given events over the past 24 hours.
Lakers could replace LeBron James with Jonathan Kuminga
Not only is James' departure from the Lakers confirmed with the Warriors perhaps his leading suitor, but Kuminga is now officially a free agent himself after the Atlanta Hawks declined the young forward's $24.3 million team option on Monday.
The Lakers make sense as a suitor for Kuminga not just because they've lost James and might see Hachimura depart, but because they've had interest in the 23-year-old previously when he was a member of the Warriors.
According to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area in January, the Lakers had some interest in Kuminga during his long restricted free agency last offseason, and again mid-season before his trade to the Hawks.
"Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka is a fan of Kuminga’s, sources say, and likes the idea of him as an athletic wing on a Luka Dončić-led team. The Warriors have been aware of the Lakers’ likeness for Kuminga, though it’s unclear how likely an in-season move between the two teams is," Johnson wrote in January.
The Lakers are now officially a cap space team in the wake of James' departure, meaning they're well positioned to offer Kuminga a contract should they wish. What the value of the former seventh overall pick actually is remains to be seen.
Jonathan Kuminga addition might push Luka Doncic away
James' departure only puts increased pressure on the Lakers to build a contender around Luka Doncic in the next few seasons, but is Kuminga really the right player to be pinning some of those hopes on?
Kuminga is a player who largely needs the ball in his hands to be effective, which is exactly why there was always an imperfect fit in Steve Kerr's offense. It's hard to see him being more productive playing alongside a ball-dominant player in Doncic, not to mention the Lakers have also brought back Austin Reaves who will have a significant share of the offense.
Can the Lakers turn Kuminga into a high-level starter next to Doncic and Reaves? It's hard to envision that proving the case and leading to a deep playoff run, but we might see the experiment undertaken with a free agency move in the coming hours.
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