The Lakers have the biggest offer on the table for Jonathan Kuminga, but the list of teams chasing the free agent forward keeps growing.
Free agency has dragged into August and Jonathan Kuminga is still waiting, which means the Lakers are still waiting too.
Los Angeles has spent weeks positioned as the most aggressive suitor for the forward, and by most accounts the richest one, yet the market around him refuses to thin out.
Cleveland remains involved, Atlanta has kept the door open on a return, and now Minnesota has entered the picture as well.
For a Lakers front office trying to finish an offseason of big changes, the last piece is proving to be the slowest one.
The Field Keeps Growing
According to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, the Lakers and Cavaliers both have active sign-and-trade interest, re-signing with the Hawks remains possible, and the Timberwolves have now expressed interest with their starting power forward spot open and a taxpayer mid-level exception worth about 6 million dollars available.
"While the Lakers have a significantly higher financial offer and longer contract on the table, and Cleveland can also offer a significantly higher salary via a sign-and-trade, Minnesota's interest is still noteworthy, given the basketball fit," Scotto reported.
Minnesota turned to Kuminga after missing on LeBron James, so its pursuit is real even if its money is short.
One insider has already predicted Kuminga lands in Los Angeles anyway.
Why He Fits
Kuminga split last season between Golden State and Atlanta, averaging 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds across 36 games, and the production only tells part of the story.
The Lakers went 53-29 last season before Oklahoma City swept them out of the second round, then watched LeBron James leave for Philadelphia after eight years.
The roster has been rebuilt on the fly since, with Deandre Ayton traded to Washington and Walker Kessler brought in from Utah, though the center rotation still needs work.
A forward entering his prime is exactly the bet a retooling team should make, and Luka Doncic tends to make every finisher around him better.
The fit is not complicated, which is probably why the front office has stayed this patient for this long.
Patience Should Still Win
The Lakers remain the favorite for one simple reason, which is that nobody else can pay him like they can.
Minnesota is offering a fraction of the money, Atlanta has had all summer to close a deal and has not, and Cleveland needs a sign-and-trade to work financially.
The risk is that the longer this drags, the more time other front offices have to get creative.
Los Angeles has been careful not to bid against itself, and that discipline makes sense in early July.
In August, with camp getting closer and the rest of the roster set, finishing the job is worth more than winning the negotiation by an extra few dollars.
The Lakers have done the hard part already by outbidding the field and staying at the front of the line all summer.
Letting a smaller offer steal the player now, simply because the process dragged on, would turn a well-run offseason into a story about the one piece that got away.
