Lakers landing Jonathan Kuminga heating up, and he'd take a pay cut

Lakers landing Jonathan Kuminga heating up, and he’d take a pay cut originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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As we look at the Los Angeles Lakers roster, we can see a slew of problems, though much of it stems from their limited assets and young players. The Lakers aren’t a bad team by any means, and there’s even an argument to be made that they can be very good next season. 

However, a lot of that will be due to how talented Luka Doncic is. Outside of him, there isn’t a slew of talent, and with the limited number of young players and assets Los Angeles has, it’s tough to see a scenario where it becomes a great team in the future.

Looking to fix that, the Lakers have been linked to Jonathan Kuminga multiple times throughout the past few months. 

I’m not a big fan of Kuminga, and I think there’s a reason the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks have been content to let him walk. 

I’m not sure if there’s more to the story, but teams don’t typically just give up on young, talented players this easily.

Whatever the reason, it’s at least important to hear that the Lakers have some interest in Kuminga, though one ESPN reporter recently suggested it won’t be that easy to land him.

“The Lakers have had discussions with free agent wing Jonathan Kuminga, sources told ESPN, pitching opportunity over the veteran minimum salary they can offer. It’s a model that worked a few seasons ago for Malik Monk, who has signed close to $100 million in deals with the Sacramento Kings since. But there are other suitors for Kuminga, and convincing him to take a $20 million pay cut to join the Lakers won’t be easy,” Dave McMenamin wrote.

Kuminga is a tough player to evaluate in a sense. He feels like the typical guy who just needs a chance to play every day and get a real opportunity. There were times he got that in Golden State, but he needs a long stretch of action to really get a feel for who he is as a player. 

I’m unsure whether Los Angeles can give him that, but if it can, I wouldn’t mind making a move for him.

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