The Hawks would benefit from keeping Jonathan Kuminga next season, but with the roster already at 16 players, either letting him walk or completing a sign-and-trade is becoming more realistic with every passing day.
Luckily for them, there appears to be a cross-conference suitor interested in taking in his services, They, however, wouldn't be able to just sign him at his expected annual value. They would need to work out a sign-and-trade. That team - the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, the Lakers are placing "significant consideration" on bringing in the young, athletic forward. In order to do so, they'll need to send out some salary.
Los Angeles has no other realistic path to acquiring Kuminga
If they truly are interested in the 23-year-old two-way force, they'll have to make some tough decisions regarding the bulk of their roster. He fills a position of need, so it would undoubtedly be a worthy sacrifice.
Kuminga is expected to require at least $15 million annually in unrestricted free agency, and the Lakers - after making four bold acquisitions Wednesday afternoon - can only sign remaining players to a veteran minimum. Obviously, it wouldn't be nearly enough to acquire Kuminga.
Sending out the exact salary that Kuminga's expected to make is the only way, and a sign-and-trade with Atlanta would come naturally, as the Hawks are likely not done looking to shake up their depth behind their set-in-stone starting five.
In a potential sign-and-trade for Kuminga, they'd only be able to ship away players on their roster from last season. Any combination of Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht and Deandre Ayton would be on their way to Atlanta.
For a team who could seriously use some extra shooting and wing defense, any of the first three guys would make a lot of sense.
The Hawks also must get rid of some guys on the roster
They're already over the limit of 15 players, even without Kuminga on the roster. If they brought in two guys from Los Angeles, they would be sitting at 18 players, making some even more difficult decisions become necessary.
The NBA is a business, after all, and if there's a legitimate chance to improve, rather than letting Jonathan Kuminga just walk, they need to take it.
Or, if it comes down to it, just bring him back. They have his bird rights for that specific reason.
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