1 year, $13.29 million! Trade rejected! Goodbye, Kuminga!

Reporter Scotto reports that:The trade talks between the Lakers and Hawks broke down because Atlanta considered Vanderbilt a negative asset and was unwilling to take on his $13.29 million contract for next season.

Earlier, US media outlet BF revealed a potential sign-and-trade framework as follows:

The Lakers would get Kuminga;

The Hawks would receive Vanderbilt plus a 2032 first-round pick swap right.

During the mid-2022-23 season, Vanderbilt was traded from the Jazz to the Lakers. He has since played for the Purple and Gold for three and a half seasons, signing a four-year, $48 million extension in the summer of 2023.

This guy was born on April 3, 1999. He is a 6-foot-8 (2.03m) wing with a 7-foot-1 (2.15m) wingspan, drafted in the second round (41st overall) in 2018. Last regular season, he averaged 17.4 minutes, 4.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, shooting 47.1% from the field. In this year's playoffs, he averaged 10.7 minutes, 2.9 points, and 3.4 rebounds, shooting 40.9%.

Vanderbilt's defensive ability is unquestionable, but being only a defender without offensive skills is a problem, especially lacking outside shooting threat. Throughout his NBA career, he has averaged 0.2 made three-pointers per game on 29% shooting in the regular season, and 0.2 on 20.5% shooting in the playoffs.

Back to Kuminga, the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft is an unrestricted free agent this summer. However, because he has insisted on a $20 million annual salary, he has yet to find a new team. Teams interested in him have basically lost the cap space to sign him directly, so they can only pursue a sign-and-trade with the Hawks as described above.

Not only the Lakers, but also the Clippers, Bucks, and Cavaliers are among the teams interested in bringing Kuminga aboard.

The latest update indicates that,Kuminga might return to the Hawks on a 1+1 contract, he played 16 regular-season games for the team last season, starting once, averaging 22.1 minutes, 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, with shooting percentages of 47.6% and 34.6% (field goal and three-point). In this year's playoffs, he averaged 26 minutes, 13.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1 assist, shooting 48.3% and 20.8%.

In short, the longer it drags on, the worse it gets. Kuminga needs to decide his future soon.