After a relatively messy 4.5 season saga, Hawks acquired former number seven overall pick Jonathan Kuminga in a swap with the Golden State Warriors for Kristaps Porzingis straight up at last trade deadline.
Could the Hawks get the most out of a talented, but out of favor, forward?
Well, in 16 regular season games with the Hawks, he averaged 12.3 points (58% true shooting) on 22.1 minutes per game. In the six-game Knicks series, those figures were 13.7 points per game (57% true shooting) in 26.0 minutes per game. His overall play was impactful if erratic, and at 24 years of age still, there are many fans of him around the league.
But is Onsi Saleh, the president of basketball operations, one of those fans? Well Saleh did make the decision to turn down his $24.3 million team option for 2026-27.
Now a month later, Jonathan Kuminga remains an unrestricted free agent who has yet to find a home. The Hawks have the ability to execute a sign-and-trade transaction in order to bring back assets this deep into free agency with few teams having necessary cap space or exceptions to take in the forward onto their roster.
While he operated as Atlanta’s sixth man late in the season, there are murmurs Kuminga wants a bigger role somewhere. Additionally, rumors indicate teams aren’t willing to match he and his camp’s asking price.
With that background, what are the prominent insiders saying about the situation surrounding Jonathan Kuminga?
Well, this from Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of the Stein Line substack was posted on July 23, before the Philadelphia 76ers signed LeBron James:
The Cavaliers naturally still badly want to re-sign LeBron — for all of this week’s mounting talk about a second stint for King James on South Beach — and remain hopeful that the 41-year-old Akron native will choose a third marriage with Cleveland over the Heat, Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers.
The expectation thus naturally persists that the Cavaliers, like the Joe Lacob-owned Warriors, will hold off on doing anything else until it is confirmed that James’ second homecoming is out of reach.
That said …
League sources maintain that the Cavaliers are among the teams that have registered interest in former No. 5 overall pick Mario Hezonja. The Real Madrid forward has made it clear that he wants to return to the NBA after playing in Europe for the past six seasons and the last four in the Spanish capital. So add Hezonja’s name to the list of potential fallback options for Cleveland along with Hawks free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
“I think,” said one trusted source, “that we’re going to see eight or nine players sign right after LeBron makes his choice. Maybe more.”
Speaking of Kuminga …
He’ll need help from Atlanta on a sign-and-trade to come anywhere close to last season’s $22.5 million salary, but the latest indications we’ve received suggest that the Hawks are likely to be pretty choosy when it comes to sign and-trade scenarios they’re willing to accept.
Kuminga, meanwhile, is said to be open to an Atlanta return on a short-term deal. The Hawks, though, appear pretty deep at the wing positions after their trade Sunday to acquire Lu Dort from Oklahoma City.
So post-James signing, will the Cleveland Cavaliers offer the Hawks players and/or picks in return for agreeing with Kuminga on a contract? Time will soon tell.
Then, on July 24, Joe Vardon of the Athletic posted in part this update on the Kuminga holding pattern:
Kuminga, though, is more interested in a sign-and-trade deal involving Atlanta because he could earn more money that way. Kuminga is seeking a salary much closer to what he would have earned had the Hawks picked up his option, in the neighborhood of $20 million to $23 million. The two teams most often linked to Kuminga — the Cavs and Los Angeles Lakers — would both need to execute a sign-and-trade to pay him anywhere near that figure. Kuminga could also return to the Hawks on a short contract, and other teams like the LA Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks have been mentioned as potential destinations.
League sources, who spoke on the condition anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, said what the Lakers are prepared to offer Atlanta in a trade is underwhelming, whereas Cleveland has potentially more appealing trade pieces. The Cavs have been linked to possible trades of veteran forward Max Strus ($16 million) and point guard Dennis Schröder ($14 million). To execute a sign-and-trade transaction, Cleveland must remain under the NBA’s first salary apron of roughly $209 million, which is why Harden remains unsigned.
What do you think the Hawks should do? Re-sign Jonathan Kuminga or look to the Cavaliers or Lakers for a sign-and-trade? Please let me know in the comments below.