The Lakers are having a terrible season hanging at the very bottom half of the Western Conference table. After the new year 2023 kicked off, it looked like LeBron James’ side was beginning to climb up the table. But they could not hold onto their winning streak. Currently, the Los Angeles-based franchise is 25-30. There is a high possibility of the star-studded side not making it to the playoffs this season. They are not even qualifying for the play-in tournament, as it seems. With this status of the team at the table, the Lakers need some good and promising deals out of the trades before it hits the deadline.
The Lakers Don’t Care To Trade Cheaply
The front office of the Lakers has been taking forever to get Russell Westbrook off their chest, which they finally have. The Lakers have traded Westbrook to the Jazz, also connecting with Minnesota Timberwolves in the same contract. After the deal with the Timberwolves, the Lakers have bought the 26-year-old point guard, D’Angelo Russell, who is supposed to be a good mix in the team. With the transfer window closing on Thursday, the Lakers don’t care if they trade cheaply. The Los Angeles Lakers also have to keep in mind the luxury tax bill and negotiate accordingly.
Albeit, the Lakers franchise is known to trade lightly so that they can save money. But this attitude hurts their roster, specifically when they look for perfect talent to build a championship-winning side. However, if the team continues on its cheap path of buying players and being a cap space team in the summer, the Lakers will lose their luxury tax in order to steer clear of the repeater tax.
Yossi Gozlan Explains The Cap Space Situation
According to the Hoops Hype salary cap expert of the NBA, Yossi Gozlan, the Lakers’ strategy of cap space will grow to be more fruitless, considering Kyrie Irving extends his contract with Dallas Mavericks. When Kyrie Irving suddenly announced that he wanted to leave Brooklyn Nets. Out of all the teams, the Lakers were the most interested, especially his former teammate, LeBron James. But the Los Angeles team could not come to terms with the Nets. This is why Irving moved to the Mavericks. This move deeply saddened the front office of the LA Franchise.
With Kyrie Irving off the board assuming he extends/re-signs with Dallas, the cap space path becomes even less fruitful for the Lakers.
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) February 6, 2023
The over the cap option would likely put them in the repeater tax next season, but gives them more avenues to strengthen the 2023-24 roster. pic.twitter.com/eZDAkPtxja
Now as per Gozlan’s calculation, the cap space situation puts the Lakers into the problem of facing a repeater tax in the following season. However, it will provide the LA team opportunities to reinforce their roster for the 2023-2024 season. If the Lakers think about moving any of their expiring players. They might have to lose some of their assets as the cost of opportunity is low.
It is pretty clear that the Los Angeles franchise is looking forward to making a significant change before the Thursday Trade Deadline is over. They will have to use some options from their first-round picks of the 2027 and 2029 rosters. They have pretty good options available in their first-round choices for their future roster. It all comes down to what Rob Pelinka’s side is ready to sacrifice. In order to have a successful trade, to raise the quality of their roster.