NBA Insider Thinks Lakers Are ‘Hungriest’ Team for Jonathan Kuminga

The future of free agent Jonathan Kuminga is one of the biggest dominoes still standing this offseason in the NBA, and it sounds like the Los Angeles Lakers are still at the "forefront" of the discussion when it comes to the unrestricted Atlanta Hawks free agent.

In a new update, ESPN's Anthony Slater said he thinks the Lakers are still the "hungriest" team for Kuminga, even though there's no reason at this stage for them to "throttle forward," deplete their assets and try to get the forward the exact salary he wants.

"From what I gather, the Lakers are still at the forefront of the conversation with Kuminga," Slater later added.

The Kuminga saga has moved along at a very slow pace. Contract negotiations and the likely need for a sign-and-trade headline the obstacles at play.

The Lakers have been linked to the 23-year-old for much of the offseason and reportedly see him as a good fit alongside star guard Luka Doncic.

For a while, it felt like there was a lot of momentum between Kuminga and the Lakers, but that seemed to stall last month, when a report indicated the two sides were far apart in talks and that L.A. wasn't "overly motivated to push significant draft capital into sign-and-trade scenarios."

Other teams have also been linked to the former lottery pick, including the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland has long needed wing help and missed out on a reunion with former franchise cornerstone LeBron James earlier this offseason.

But right now, it appears that the Lakers are the No. 1 team to monitor as the situation continues.

The Hawks haven't been totally ruled out as an option for Kuminga, but it doesn't feel like there's much momentum pointing in that direction. The team acquired him last season from the Golden State Warriors, and while he was serviceable following the trade, he didn't show much more than he did during his Golden State tenure, which was generally seen as underwhelming.

Overall last season, Kuminga averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from long range.

To his credit, he has averaged as many as 16.1 points per game in an NBA season. Moreover, given his age and status as a former lottery pick, there is still reason to believe that he can reach another level and tap into some more of the potential that made him such a high pick.

But before that can happen, he needs to find his next destination. For now, the waiting game continues.