Report: Cavs Linked to Jonathan Kuminga More Than Any Team Besides Lakers

The deeper the NBA offseason gets, the more the options dwindle for teams looking to make meaningful roster changes.

Earlier this summer, there were some major splashes around the NBA. Since then, much of the attention has revolved around future Hall of Famer LeBron James, who is still available as a free agent after parting ways with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are firmly in the mix for James. But they have also been connected to fellow free agent Jonathan Kuminga, who most recently played for the Atlanta Hawks. In fact, according to a report, the Cavs are the team "most-often connected" to Kuminga besides the Lakers.

"Cleveland, according to league sources, is the team most-often connected to Kuminga other than the Lakers," wrote Dan Woike of The Athletic.

Woike also noted that momentum has seemingly stalled between Kuminga and the Lakers this offseason. That could open the door for the Cavs to swoop in.

But that may be plan B for Cleveland. The team's first choice has to be a reunion with James, the franchise icon who guided the Cavs to an NBA title in 2016.

James is taking his time to make his decision on his next NBA team. He has been linked to a number of potential destinations besides Cleveland, including the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors. As such, the Cavs certainly can't bank on landing him, but bringing him home would be the easiest path to making this offseason a win for Cleveland. The team has overall been very quiet this summer.

With all that in mind, Kuminga wouldn't be a bad fallback plan. The former lottery pick just finished his fifth NBA season, one in which he saw a change of scenery going from the Warriors to the Hawks.

Overall, he finished the campaign averaging 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 beyond the arc.

After being traded to the Hawks, his production was similar to how it looked when he was with the Warriors, which is serviceable but not necessarily in line with what's expected of a former No. 7 overall pick.

Atlanta declined his contract option after the season, making him a free agent. And while he could still technically return to the Hawks on a different deal (unlikely), it appears there is some sort of market out there for him elsewhere, including in Cleveland, where the Cavs have long needed help at the wing position.