The Lakers Need a Forward, but is Jonathan Kuminga a Realistic Option... or Worth the Effort?

The Lakers need a starting-caliber forward. That much is clear, and it's not exactly a state secret. 

Whether the Lakers can do it this offseason remains to be seen, and whether that player is intended to be a short or long term solution is the other half of the equation they have to try and figure out. It stands to reason the Lakers would prefer the latter, but finding that guy won't be easy. One potential candidate, at least in theory, is Hawks free agent Jonathan Kuminga, who is young, athletic, has shown some promise and is available. 

Of course, getting him is complicated by a variety of things. First, the Lakers and Kuminga would need to agree on a contract of at least three years in order to execute a sign and trade, and reportedly the gap between what the Lakers want to pay and what the Kuminga wants to receive is pretty significant. And then they'd have to figure out how to execute the actual trade, which has gotten harder after Atlanta acquired Lu Dort from the Thunder last week. 

But is Kuminga even worth all of this fuss? Would he fit with what the Lakers are doing? Is he actually as good as some (especially including Kuminga) seem to think? Would he accept the role the Lakers would need him to play, and then thrive in it? 

Would LA be better off with a shorter term solution, knowing that the odds of fully rebuilding the team to a championship level in just one offseason -- particularly after LeBron James left -- were thin? 

 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

 

SEGMENT 1: Is Kuminga worth all this fuss? 

 

SEGMENT 2: Short vs. long term considerations.

 

SEGMENT 3: Better alternatives out there? 

 

Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

 

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