The Portland Trail Blazers have a sneaky pathway to getting into the Jonathan Kuminga mix. As discussed on a recent episode of the Game Theory podcast with Sam Vecenie, the Blazers still have their full MLE to use, and they are far enough under the first apron to use it all without going over.
If the Blazers could get Kuminga to agree to a deal that starts at $15 million or less in the first season, they could bring him on board, slotting him into their MLE. Plenty of teams have discussed sign-and-trades, but the Blazers wouldn’t even have to worry about that, because Kuminga is an unrestricted free agent. They could just sign him using their MLE.
Portland hasn’t really been mentioned as a potential Kuminga destination, but he could make sense for the Blazers as they look to round out their new-look core moving forward.
Jonathan Kuminga could be nice upside swing for Blazers
At this point in his career, Kuminga is still trying to prove that he can impact winning at the highest level. He flamed out with the Golden State Warriors, and now, the Hawks don’t seem eager to bring him back.
But Kuminga is a freak athlete. He clearly has at least some scoring chops. And with his athleticism, he could be a fun lob threat piece to employ at the power forward position.
Considering how many talented guards the Blazers have on the roster – Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday – adding that type of player could be useful.
Plus, Kuminga is still only 23 years old. He still has plenty of room to grow, and if you’re the Blazers, taking a chance on a talent upside swing could be an interesting idea.
Jonathan Kuminga would help add forward depth
Right now, the Blazers are very guard-heavy. As noted. So, bringing in another forward would help balance things out. Kuminga could slot in right behind Toumani Camara at the four.
Camara doesn’t possess anywhere close to the amount of athleticism that Kuminga has. He would probably struggle to eclipse Camara as a starter, but there’s plenty of room for him in the rotation.
Kuminga would also help the Blazers push the pace at times. Imagine a fast break with Morant and Kuminga sprinting the length of the floor.
With Jerami Grant and Kris Murray shipped out in the Morant deal, adding Kuminga would help replace some of the forward depth that the Blazers lost. Signing him would be a very interesting move for Portland.
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