For once, a star is on the trade block at the Los Angeles Lakers aren't involved. Trae Young and his team are working with the Atlanta Hawks on a resolution, and that more than likely means a trade before next month's deadline. The Lakers, of course, have sat this one out — their backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves is more than satisfactory.
One of the teams consistently tied with Young is the Washington Wizards. The Lakers would be okay with that for a few reasons. Firstly, it would keep a star player out of the Western Conference. But also, the Wizards are currently slated to have $80 million in cap space this offseason — second-most in the NBA behind the Clippers. With Young on the roster, that number will shrink considerably, and the Lakers would suddenly be in line to have the second-most cap space in the league. Via Jake Fischer on a Bleacher Report live stream:
"It does make some sense on the Wizards side of things because Washington is gonna have $80 million in cap space next summer. And that's been a question that cap strategists around the league have wondered out loud, like what are the Wizards going to do with 80 million dollars?"
Trae Young would take up most of Wizards' projected cap space
If Young is traded to the Wizards and then works with the team on a long-term deal, that will cut the Wizards' spending money in half, at least, and give them a little less spending flexibility.
However, maybe the Wizards and Lakers won't be fighting for the same free agents in the first place. Plus, the Lakers' cap space hinges on the assumption that LeBron James will no longer be on the team next year, which now feels less likely than at any other point this year. On top of that, much of the Lakers' money will (hopefully) go to a long-term deal for Austin Reaves. Still, watching the other cap space teams also spend might make negotiations easier — at least, it would make it harder for free agents to bluff, because they won't be able to say things like, Well, I would take that deal, but the Wizards just offered me $75 million a year.
There are a few other teams that will likely have cap space this summer — the Jazz, Nets, and Bulls. Of course, Chicago will always be an alluring destination, but the Nets and Jazz are both in such rough spots that I'm not too concerned about either one poaching potential free agents from the Lakers.
In any case, it's good when a team with as much spending power as the Wizards could have this summer use a chunk of that change on a player the Lakers would have no interest in anyway. If Lakers fans are questioning where they should cheer for Trae to land, it's probably in the nation's capital.