The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly aren’t shopping defensive-minded forward Jarred Vanderbilt around the league, per The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer, further complicating a potential sign-and-trade for a former Golden State Warriors lottery pick.
Heavy’s Sean Deveney still believes the Lakers could pull off a deal, though, suggesting that the 17-time NBA champions could entice the Atlanta Hawks with a Dalton Knecht-centered trade package to help them steal the Cleveland Cavaliers’ $46 million NBA champion trade target.
“The Lakers can only use a veteran minimum contract to add players now,” Deveney wrote Monday. “With the cap-space option off the table, (Jonathan) Kuminga’s options are pretty well in focus, and they depend on LeBron James.”
“That’s because the Hawks would have to sign-and-trade Kuminga to get a deal done, and there really isn’t anything on the Lakers’ roster that they value–the Lakers could offer a pick swap in 2032 or two second-round picks along with some combination of Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, and maybe a deep-bench player.”
Deveney’s intel is good news for Knecht and the Lakers. It’s unlikely Knecht will ever receive the freedom he needs to make mistakes and figure things out in Los Angeles, making a sign-and-trade centered on Kuminga the best-case scenario for the Tennessee product.
This past season, it became clear that Knecht’s partnership with Los Angeles likely won’t help him achieve what should be his desired result in the NBA: transforming into a dependable starting or bench contributor.
The 25-year-old averaged only 10.2 minutes in Year after being a near 20-minute asset as a rookie, and didn’t make a significant leap as a shot maker or playmaker (4.2 points per game on 45.5% field goal shooting and 34.2% from three-point land).
From the Lakers’ perspective, they would finally land their dream wing in Kuminga and give their roster a noticeable boost before a pivotal 2026-27 campaign.
According to a report from Lakers All Day Everyday’s Aaron Cohen, the Lakers are in a tight battle with the Cavaliers for the promising 23-year-old wing, and could fall short if LeBron James elects not to sign with the franchise.
If it wasn’t already painfully obvious, things are very much still up in the air in mid-July.
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