Celtics Named Top Landing Spot for One of NBA's Most Polarizing Players
· Yahoo Sports
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The Boston Celtics have one more roster spot available. Should they use it on Jonathan Kuminga?
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Despite showing some promise in Atlanta, the Hawks declined Kuminga's team option for the 2026-27 season, making him a free agent.
Bleacher Report's Dan Favale named Kuminga as the second-best free agent currently available and mentioned the Celtics as one of his best fits along with the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves.
As Favale writes, the big unknown at this point in free agency is Kuminga's asking price.
"His reported asking price of $14 to $16 million per year feels like a pipe dream this late into the offseason," Favale wrote. "Cap-space and exception spending have dried up, and Atlanta is close enough to the luxury tax it almost assuredly won't want to take back money as part of a sign-and-trade.
MORE: Celtics Named Best Fit for 6-Time All-Star Who Ranks 16th on NBA's All-Time Scoring List
"Tack on a list of suitors featuring flexibility-starved teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, and Kuminga may have no choice but to sign a cheap prove-it contract.
"Just about any squad should welcome the dice roll under those circumstances. Kuminga remains a wild card, but he routinely ranks among the leaders in self-generated shots at the rim and fouls-drawn rate. If he can get back to hitting his catch-and-shoot threes, while taking more of them, the rest of his flaws become much easier to overlook."
Kuminga, 23, is one of the more polarizing players in the NBA.
While he's an incredible athlete who has flashed some star potential since being drafted No. 7 overall in 2021, he struggled to carve out a reliable role for himself in both Golden State and Atlanta, and now his future is unclear.
Through five seasons, Kuminga is averaging 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.6 steals per game while shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from 3-point range.
How Kuminga handles his next stop will go a long way in determining what the rest of his NBA career looks like.