The Cavaliers and free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga have mutual interest in the former No. 7 overall pick ending up in Cleveland, multiple league sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
After LeBron James decided to sign with Philadelphia, the Cavs may try to pivot to acquiring Kuminga, who’s familiar with head coach Kenny Atkinson through their time together in Golden State, when Atkinson was Steve Kerr‘s top assistant.
According to Vardon, the Cavs have been in communication with the 23-year-old and his Cleveland-based agent, Aaron Turner, throughout free agency.
“Jonathan likes the Cavs, likes (coach) Kenny Atkinson, and (star) Donovan Mitchell likes him,” Turner told The Athletic in a brief interview. Turner added that his client is a fan of the city and spent a couple months training in Cleveland during the 2025 offseason.
The tricky part is figuring out what a contract would look like, Vardon writes. The Cavs are about $25.3MM beneath the first tax apron, per Yossi Gozlan of CapSheets.com, and a little under $38MM below the second apron. Cleveland was the only NBA team to operate over the second apron last season and is unlikely to do so again in 2026/27.
As Vardon details, the Cavaliers could offer Kuminga a starting salary of $6.1MM ($12.4MM over two years) using the taxpayer mid-level exception, which would hard-cap the Cavs at the second apron. That would theoretically give the team plenty of wiggle room to re-sign James Harden, one of several players whose free agency was put on hold until LeBron picked a team.
Offering Kuminga more than the taxpayer portion of the MLE would hard-cap the Cavs at the first apron and would severely limit what they could offer Harden. Going that route could result in the team making a cost-cutting move or two.
However, Kuminga wants to earn more than the mid level, according to Vardon, who hears the five-year veteran is hoping to land a deal in the range of $20-23MM annually via sign-and-trade. That would require cooperation from the Hawks, who declined their $24.3MM option on Kuminga in June.
Several other teams have been linked to Kuminga as well, most notably the Lakers. Sources tell Vardon that Atlanta has been underwhelmed by Los Angeles’ sign-and-trade scenarios, but Cleveland’s potential offer would be more appealing to the Hawks. Max Strus and Dennis Schröder are among the Cavs who have been floated as possible trade candidates this offseason, Vardon notes.
Vardon suggests a reunion between Kuminga and the Hawks hasn’t been ruled out either, adding that it would likely be a short-term agreement if it comes to fruition.
