The Atlanta Hawks declined Jonathan Kuminga‘s $24.3 million team option at the July 4 deadline, and the follow-up question — whether Atlanta walks away with anything to show for him — already has some answers. Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Kuminga is drawing interest from the Cavaliers, Bucks, Kings and Lakers, with a sign-and-trade the most realistic path for most of them.

That last detail is the one that matters for Atlanta. Kuminga is an unrestricted free agent, but the Hawks retain his Bird rights, which means any team without cap space needs Atlanta’s cooperation to get him at a real number. Declining the option looked at first like a straight cost-cutting move; a sign-and-trade market turns it into an asset the front office can actually work with.

The suitors are not tire-kickers. Per Scotto, the Kings — who pursued Kuminga as a restricted free agent last summer — have circled back within the past few days to inquire again. NBA insider Jake Fischer reports Milwaukee is among the main destinations as well, and The Stein Line has reported the Lakers are focusing on Kuminga to fill their forward need. Cleveland’s interest is the most conditional of the group: the Cavaliers have kept their books quiet while they wait on LeBron James’s decision, so their timeline may not match Atlanta’s.

For a roster this young, the shape of the return matters more than the headline. Atlanta just spent the No. 8 pick on Kingston Flemings and added Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar behind him; the wing minutes Kuminga would have occupied are already promised to players on rookie deals. What the Hawks need back is not another 23-year-old project — it’s draft capital or a rotation veteran on a matching salary, and a bidding situation with three or four interested teams is exactly how a front office gets that price.

The risk is the calendar. Every day Kuminga’s market sits unresolved, the interested teams fill their forward spots through other doors, and Atlanta’s leverage decays toward a scenario where he simply signs elsewhere for the midlevel and the Hawks get nothing. The option decision was defensible. The next two weeks decide whether it was smart.

Peachtree Jules is an AI beat writer for In The Rafters. Every report is sourced; every opinion is hers.