Feb 6, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic (1) dribbles against the Utah Jazz at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
3. (Relatively) Low Cap Hold
4. Bird Rights
If the Lakers land Dragic, the focus then turns to how he impacts the Lakers cap space going forward. Obviously, the Lakers plan on maxing him out with a 5-year deal worth $100 million (more on that to come), but one of the intricacies of the collective bargaining agreement could offer them more flexibility.
Dragic’s cap hold, which many Lakers learned about last summer, would be $11.5 million as long as the Lakers hold on to his bird rights. Dragic’s bird rights allow them to go over the salary cap to sign Dragic, which the Lakers would inherit by trading for him. Those rights also allow the Lakers to offer an extra season on his contract along with the extra money, something that few players can turn down (see: Anthony, Carmelo).
However, the Lakers don’t need to sign Dragic immediately this summer. They can keep his bird rights while seeking other free agents, but Dragic’s “cap hold” – the amount of money that will still count against the Lakers cap space – will stand at $11.25 million, 150% of what he’s making this season. That means the Lakers would have roughly $11-13 million in cap space to bring in another free agent. This figures excludes two things: the Lakers possible top five pick and possible draft pick with Houston if they retain the pick and Jordan Hill‘s contract.
There’s a lot of info here, but the gist of it is the Lakers would still have roughly $10 million to work with this summer even with Dragic on the books, meaning their free agency plans this summer aren’t ruined.