The Los Angeles Lakers have but one shot to turn cap space into a contending roster around Luka Doncic, and that shot is happening this summer for general manager Rob Pelinka. With it obvious that Pelinka is going to pay Austin Reaves max money and make Reaves and Luka the future of this franchise, all eyes are on LeBron James. And, by the sound of it, LeBron could sort of mess the Lakers' entire plan up by convincing Pelinka to pay him a lot of money.
Do the Lakers actually have any cap space ... like, at all?
"I don't think [the Lakers] really have cap space," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on Wednesday, terrifying Lakers fans who are unaware of the true situation. Windhorst pointed out that Reaves made $14 million this past season, while LeBron made $50 million. With Reaves set to opt out of his deal and sign a new max contract, and with LeBron entering free agency, Windhorst doubts that the Lakers will be able to retain both Reaves and James for less than the combined $64 million that the duo cost LA this past season.
"What you need is LeBron to take a significant pay cut," Windhorst's colleague, ESPN's Tim MacMahon, said in response. But Windhorst wasn't completely buying it. "What's significant?" he wondered aloud.
Even with a LeBron pay cut, the Lakers' offseason is doomed
As Windhorst pointed out, even if LeBron -- who is still an All-Star-level player -- took a 40% pay cut next season, bringing him down to a cap hit around $30 million, the Lakers would still struggle mightily with cap space as they look to make other additions this summer. And why would an All-Star-level player take a 40% pay cut, by the way? No one does that.
But okay, say LeBron signs for the $30 million. Even then, you could all but rule out a return of Rui Hachimura, whose value is soaring these days after a stellar playoffs, and whom Pelinka would love to bring back. And what about free agent Luke Kennard, whom the Lakers have expressed interest in bringing back? That's another cost. It goes without saying that the Lakers wouldn't have any money leftover to chase guys like Peyton Watson.
Even if the Lakers convinced LeBron to sign for an amount far below his value, they still wouldn't have loads of cap space to work with, not the kind of space that would be required to build a roster capable of putting a scare into the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs. This "summer of cap space" isn't much of a reality at all for the Lake Show, unless Pelinka is more of a magician than we all realize.
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