NBA rumors: Lakers could add Jonathan Kuminga, Jaylen Brown spin, Chris Paul comeback

NBA free agency has slowed to a crawl as several contenders await word from LeBron James. He appears to be choosing between 10 teams — with Cleveland, Miami, Golden State and Philadelphia leading the pack.

In the meantime, there is still plenty of buzz in the rumor mill, from major trade fallout to other high-profile free agent targets. Here's what deserves your attention as the holiday weekend gets underway:

Lakers are interested in signing former lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga

• Lakers want to add a young defensive wing in free agency
• Jonathan Kuminga is viewed as a potential high-upside swing

The Los Angeles Lakers are moving on from LeBron James, acquiring Walker Kessler on a four-year, $130 million contract, as well as signing Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton. After trading Deandre Ayton to the Wizards on Friday, L.A. is roughly $7 million below the luxury tax line.

While the Lakers are fresh out of meaningful cap space, there are still holes to plug on the roster. According to The Athletic's Dan Woike, Los Angeles wants "a young wing to help its perimeter defense." One target he mentions: Jonathan Kuminga.

Kuminga split last season between Golden State and Atlanta, but the Hawks declined his $24.3 million team option. The 23-year-old averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23.1 minutes on 55.7 percent true shooting.

While Kuminga's defensive equity is mostly theoretical at this stage, he offers the sort of athleticism and physicality that could, in time, allow him to develop into a real stopper on the wing. Los Angeles, low on flexibility and essentially in the market for calculated, low-risk upside bets, could view Kuminga as a player whose return on investment would far outweigh a minimum or near-minimum contract.

In addition to LeBron, it seems like L.A. needs to replace Rui Hachimura, too. Kuminga would have a legitimate chance to start games at power forward for the Lakers.

Celtics continue to spin their P.R. campaign after the Jaylen Brown trade

• Celtics internally viewed Derrick White as more impactful than Jaylen Brown
• Boston thought Brown went 'off script' too often in first-round collapse vs. Philadelphia

In what was easily the offseason's most shocking and unexpected move, the Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the division rival Philadelphia 76ers earlier this week. In exchange, Boston received Paul George, two future first-round picks and two second-round picks. That is after Milwaukee declined to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo for a package built around Brown and picks.

While Paul George is still quite good and should amplify Boston's scheme on both ends, this was a stunning admission of defeat for the Celtics front office. George was viewed as a negative contract. For the Sixers to only attach two first-round picks to him to add an MVP candidate and second-team All-NBA wing to their roster feels like a huge win.

The Celtics, of course, are taking some heat from their fanbase — and spinning the trade hard on the P.R. front in an effort to justify the move. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Boston viewed Derrick White as their most impactful player last season, not the more lauded and awarded Brown.

And, according to The Athletic's Jay King and Sam Amick, the Celtics thought Brown "went off script too often" in Boston's first-round collapse against the Sixers. Brown saying that he preferred the Celtics' play style in Game 7, a game they lost after he went 12-of-27 from the floor, did not sit well with Boston's brass.

The Celtics also questioned whether, long-term, Brown would fully accept a secondary role next to Jayson Tatum again.

"Still, the Celtics began to have questions about whether he would remain fully bought in moving forward, according to league sources," King and Amick write. "Internally, they wondered whether they could keep everyone on the same page basketball-wise, as they had always managed to do in the past."

Boston clearly valued Brown more than the rest of the league and felt the relationship was beyond salvaging. As a result, Philadelphia takes a gamble on a flawed but immensely talented star while only sacrificing two picks and an even worse contract, which was attached to an aging wing seven years Brown's senior.

Chris Paul comeback rumors swirl after recent workout

• Chris Paul and Jayson Tatum worked out together at their Elite Camp
• NBA fans are speculating about a potential comeback for the future Hall of Fame point guard

The Point God himself, Chris Paul, recently worked out alongside Celtics star Jayson Tatum at their Elite Camp. The video made the rounds on social media — and stoked the flames of speculation about a potential comeback for the 12-time All-Star.

While Paul appeared to hang 'em up for good at the end of last season, only for his former team — the Spurs — to promptly go all the way to the NBA Finals. Now, the NBA arms race has reached a frenzied pace, with Kawhi Leonard, Jaylen Brown, LaMelo Ball, Ja Morant and soon LeBron James all switching teams.

Could Paul join Tatum in Boston? Probably not, as Mike Conley just inked a vet minimum contract with the Celtics. He fulfills a similar leadership role as a small, pass-first point guard. But what about LeBron's next team? Rumors of CP3 and LeBron teaming up used to be commonplace every few years, but it never came to fruition. Perhaps this is the summer. Any team lucky enough to get LeBron at or near a minimum contract is probably happy to bite the bullet on a similar contract for Paul, who averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 assists in 28.0 minutes in 2024-25, his last season as a full-time starter.

This is all speculation, of course, but it's a fun thought exercise to wonder which teams might roll the dice on the greatest point guard of a generation, should CP3 announce his return.

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