The NBA trade deadline is later this month. As the defending NBA champions, the Lakers look poised to compete for the title again this year. So, big moves aren’t likely. But for a look at roster flexiblity, here’s the OC Register:
Because of the structure of the offseason contracts for Montrezl Harrell and Wesley Matthews, the Lakers are hard-capped, meaning they can’t spend above $138.9 million in salary. They are currently $3.1 million under that number, which is not a lot in NBA money, and even less when you consider that the Lakers can only add veteran minimum contracts because they are above the salary cap threshold ($109.1 million).
Those are a lot of technical terms, but the practical meaning is the Lakers can’t add anyone that they can’t pay a pro-rata veteran’s minimum deal, which at the current moment is less than $1 million. That may hurt them in the hunt for a buyout market candidate: Free agents will have to be motivated to sign with them to win rings.
The hard cap also means that the Lakers will have a very difficult time taking on salary. Even though they have two roster spots available, they have to stay below the $138.9 million mark no matter what, which means there’s almost no fungible way to trade for players with bigger contracts than the salary they’re sending out (usually there’s some leeway). Many of the Lakers’ best trade pieces are underpaid, like Alex Caruso ($2.7 million) or Talen Horton-Tucker ($1.5 million) who are still on smaller deals.
The Lakers are the top-ranked defensive team in the NBA so far this season. What they could use is another player who can provide some offensive punch.
