Key Points
- The Lakers hold mutual interest with free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga.
- They are weighing waiving and stretching Jarred Vanderbilt to create about $7 million in cap space.
- The Lakers spent their earlier cap room on Wednesday's signings.
- Kuminga averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds last season.
The Los Angeles Lakers and free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga hold mutual interest, and the team is considering waiving and stretching Jarred Vanderbilt's contract to open roughly $7 million in cap space for an offer, per Yahoo Sports. It is still buzz rather than a done deal — but the mechanism, and the money, are now on the table.
The Cap Math
The Lakers created this problem for themselves in a good way. After trading for Walker Kessler and signing Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili, they no longer have the room to simply sign Kuminga outright. Waiving and stretching Vanderbilt — spreading his remaining salary across future seasons — is how they would manufacture the last ~$7 million. Kuminga, 23, spent four seasons with Golden State before a trade to Atlanta ahead of the 2026 deadline and reached free agency this summer when the Hawks declined his option; he averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season.
The Reaction
The pursuit landed in the middle of a louder conversation. A fan-circulated projection of the Lakers' post-LeBron starting five — built around Luka Dončić and a newly re-signed Austin Reaves — set off a wave of social-media commentary about the roster's composition, including on-air remarks from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. A sampling of the reaction:
The Read
Strip away the noise and the Kuminga chase is really about fit: a young, athletic wing is exactly what a Dončić-led team short on perimeter defense and downhill athleticism needs, and it would reshape a lineup the internet has spent the week debating. That the Lakers would waive a defender in Vanderbilt to chase one shows how thin the post-LeBron margin for error is — every dollar now has to work. Whether Rob Pelinka can actually clear the room, and whether Kuminga picks Los Angeles over teams that can pay him more cleanly, is the part still unwritten. This one is worth watching, not booking.
Source: Yahoo Sports
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