Kuminga's Contract Demands Continue To Put Kibosh On One Particular Trade

Jonathan Kuminga is an unrestricted free agent, still without a contract. The problem is, he seems to value himself far above what teams around the league do. The Atlanta Hawks declined his $24.3 million team option for the 2026–27 season. 

He's willing to take less than the $20M-$25M a year that's he's looking for, but only on a one-year deal, so he can go back out on the market next summer. And while the he seems amenable to "devaluing himself" at the $15M or $16M salary the LA Lakers are offering in a sign-and-trade, that kind of deal would require a three-year contract, which Kuminga is balking at. 

Keith Smith thinks the Atlanta Hawks are ready to do a Kuminga sign + trade with the Lakers for Vando plus draft compensation and that the hold up is on Kuminga’s side. Thank you @KeithSmithNBA @FrontOfficeShow pic.twitter.com/8iZjyM5RzI

— Ricky (@NsRicky_) July 25, 2026

“The challenge with Kuminga is that if he’s gonna take less money than what he wants, then he only wants to do it for a year,” Smith said. 

"The Hawks are ready to (do the deal with the Lakers) centered around Jarred Vanderbilt and draft capital... but a sign-and-trade has to be a minimum of a three-year deal. So that's where it's stuck," explained salary cap expert Keith Smith. 

"He doesn't want to be on a smaller contract that he devalues himself at (for a longer term.)"

Cavaliers join the Lakers as teams with interest in Kuminga, but salary remains an issue

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been noted as another team with interest in Kuminga, and the 23-year-old does have a connection to Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson from when the latter was an assistant coach in Golden State for the first few seasons of the 6'7" forward's career. 

Kuminga's value has gone down in the past year, as his scoring has dipped from 15-16 points per game to the 12 ppg he averaged in 2025-26 with the Warriors and Hawks.

The former No. 7 overall pick (2021 NBA Draft) was frustrated with his role in Golden State, where head coach Steve Kerr benched him for a couple of months last season until he was finally traded to Atlanta. He had a solid but erratic finish to the year with the Hawks.