The Lakers’ No. 1 trade target this summer will likely be Trae Young. Los Angeles wants to push for a championship now, and solidify a Trae-AD duo for the post-LeBron future. (via @jovanbuha)
The 2024-25 NBA salary cap leaves the Los Angeles Lakers with limited options
NBASunday, 25 February 2024 at 06:00
Now that the NBA trade deadline is behind all teams, the front offices of franchises across the league are starting to plan ahead for the offseason and beyond. And a part of their equation will involve the 2024-25 salary cap. Some teams are below that cap and able to spend more, while some are already over it if their roster doesn't change.
The Lakers are one of the latter teams, with their projection for next season being $178,743,952. That means that they are going to be over the cap and can't add any extra salaries unless they ship some players away.
There are two players in the lineup who could decline player options this summer. And while that could help the Lakers when it comes to their financial situation, it would hurt them in other ways. That's because the two players who have player options are LeBron James and D'Angelo Russell. If either of them decided to move to another team, they'd leave some huge holes in the roster. That is especially true for James, who is still the team's MVP.
However, Russell leaving the Lakers isn't as devastating a thought. Although he has been doing a lot better lately, there is still speculation that he could be departing from Los Angeles for the second time in his career. It would free some salary space, but not a whole lot because Russell isn't on a massive contract.
The Lakers will likely be a team that is over the tax and over the salary cap this summer. They can still make some moves and improve their roster but they'll remain cash-strapped for the foreseeable future.
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