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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 11: Head coach JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks to the media during a press conference after Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on May 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have been quiet since LeBron James officially announced his departure from Hollywood to the Philadelphia 76ers. Ongoing NBA rumors continue to link the Lakers to Atlanta Hawks<\/a> free agent Jonathan Kuminga.<\/p>\n So far, things appear to be at a standstill as the Lakers and Hawks have been unable to reach a sign-and-trade agreement. Not everyone is convinced that Kuminga is the best option for Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Sports Illustrated\u2019s Ryan Ward<\/a> makes the argument that the Lakers would be wise to pivot away from Kuminga to Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson.<\/p>\n \u201cAs for Johnson, he\u2019d be a one-year rental for a player that can be the 3-and-D wing the team seems to covet right now,\u201d Ward wrote in a July 25, 2026, story titled, \u201cLakers Should Pivot From Jonathan Kuminga to Intriguing Trade Target.\u201d \u201cIf things don\u2019t work out as planned, he\u2019d be a player the Lakers could move ahead of the NBA trade deadline next season, with expiring contracts always being attractive trade pieces.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it does work out, Johnson gives the Lakers another player who can stretch the floor and make an impact defensively,\u201d Ward continued.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though Johnson\u2019s scoring took a high with the Nuggets last season at 12.2 points per game compared to 18.8 with the Brooklyn Nets<\/a> the previous season, he was still very efficient in the shooting department, posting career highs in field-goal percentage (48%) and from deep at 43 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n Let\u2019s explore the latest Lakers rumors.<\/p>\n Lakers Rumors: NBA Trade Pitch Has LA Land Nuggets Starter Cameron Johnson<\/p>\n Johnson is entering the final season of a four-year, $94.5 million contract<\/a> with the Nuggets. It remains to be seen what kind of deal Kuminga will land in NBA free agency.<\/p>\n What would a potential trade for the Lakers look like in order to acquire Johnson? The above trade package has the Lakers sending Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia to Denver in exchange for Johnson.<\/p>\n The Nuggets may push for a future draft pick as well in order for the Lakers to acquire the forward.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lakers could offer a trade package of Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia to land Johnson,\u201d Ward added. \u201cThis would also help open a roster spot to accommodate the signing of (Matisse) Thybulle, which they must do before the start of the 2026-27 NBA season.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the Nuggets have to want to make this deal, and that is likely the biggest hurdle if the Lakers decide to go this route.\u201d<\/p>\n Lakers News: LA\u2019s Trade Offer for Hawks Jonathan Kuminga Have Been \u2018Underwhelming\u2019<\/p>\n Whether it is Johnson or another player, the Lakers may soon be forced to pivot away from Kuminga. The Athletic\u2019s Joe Vardon<\/a> reported that the Lakers\u2019 trade proposal for Kuminga is \u201cunderwhelming\u201d which could create an opportunity for the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> to land the forward.<\/p>\n \u201cLeague sources, who spoke on the condition anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, said what the Lakers are prepared to offer Atlanta in a trade is underwhelming, whereas Cleveland has potentially more appealing trade pieces,\u201d Vardon noted in a July 24, story titled, \u201cCavaliers could pivot to Jonathan Kuminga after missing out on LeBron James.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJonathan Adams<\/a> is a veteran sports contributor covering the NFL, NBA and golf for Heavy.com. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 11: Head coach JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-825660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}