Do Lakers Really Need Jonathan Kuminga Contract After Arthur Kaluma's Play Amid NBA Rumors?

The Lakers reportedly offered free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga a two-year, $20 million contract, which was not enough for the 23-year-old.

NBA insider Jake Fischer reported for The Stein Line, "It's believed that the Lakers hope to package their lone tradeable first-round pick swap left over in 2032 along with Jarred Vanderbilt in a sign-and-trade proposal for Kuminga. Sources say Atlanta, however, has not considered taking back Vanderbilt in a deal that sends out Kuminga."

He added, "There are said to be multi-team scenarios that the Lakers could pursue that offload Vanderbilt to a different team than Atlanta. That would help the Lakers provide Kuminga with an offer richer than the two-year, $20 million deal that sources say they originally presented him."

The question, though, is whether the Lakers have to pay more than necessary to acquire Kuminga, given the summer league play of forward Arthur Kaluma.

The 24-year-old stunned fans in Vegas on Saturday night with a 34-point performance, where he shot 11-for-16 and dropped six three-pointers.

Dan Woike of The Athletic took to X to praise the young player:

Coach Ty Abbott touted Kaluma's confidence and ability to thrive without the ball in his hands as much as when it is.

At the very least, Kaluma's performance has earned him a two-way deal, even if he has yet to receive one from the team. At most, it has given a reason to consider the possibility that the Lakers may not need to overpay or overcommit to Kuminga.

While the latter may be true, the team does need to figure out how to bring the former Golden State Warrior and Atlanta Hawk on board. They have a glaring hole at forward and as good as Kaluma has been in Las Vegas to this point, there is a big difference between playing summer league competition and filling a key role for an NBA team with the visibility and expectations of the Lakers.

Kuminga averaged 12.2 points last season, with 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 0.3 blocks. He shot 46.3 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. The numbers will not wow anyone, but his ability to play gritty defense, the likes of which Los Angeles has not seen in years, will benefit a team that badly needs it to keep pace with Oklahoma City and San Antonio in a loaded Western Conference.

Yes, Kaluma may be a forward of the future for the Lakers, and he is certainly someone the team should get under a deal immediately, but the team is built to win now, and to do that, they have to bring in the best available forward and Kuminga is certainly one of them, if not the top.