The Los Angeles Lakers trade for Anthony Davis has fans wondering about the team’s updated cap space situation. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Lakers will have at least $27.8 million in cap room.
“The Lakers will have either $27.8M in room or $32.5M in room after this deal. All depends on the timing and if Davis waives his $4M trade bonus…If the Lakers are acting like a team over the cap (waiting 30 days), Davis will not need to waive his $4M trade bonus. The trade would work by $66K,” Marks tweeted.
This will still allow the Lakers to be players in NBA free agency even with Davis on their roster. According to Hoops Rumors, the projected max salary for next season is $27,250,000 to $38,150,000 depending on the number of years the player has been in the league.
This allows the Lakers to continue their plan to go after another All-Star this summer like Kawhi Leonard and Kemba Walker to pair with LeBron James. The Lakers might need to pull off a sign-and-trade to give the player a full max depending on how things shake out with their final cap number.
Los Angeles now has zero NBA draft picks next week, and the only reason this is good news is that it means the Lakers will not have to take on additional salary. L.A. also did not receive any other players aside from Davis in the trade. The big man is set to make just over $27 million next season in the final year of his deal.
The Lakers Can Begin Meeting With NBA Free Agents on June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern
The Lakers can begin meeting with NBA free agents on June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern. While free agents can agree to verbal deals with teams, it is non-binding until a contract can be signed on July 6 at the earliest. The Lakers and other teams are allowed to contact the players or their representatives on June 29 to set up official meetings for the following day.
It will be interesting to see who the Lakers will prioritize when 6:01 p.m. hits on June 30. The New York Times’ Marc Stein tweeted that Walker will be the team’s top priority.
“Kemba Walker will be a top target in free agency for the Lakers after they reached an agreement in principle to trade for Anthony Davis, according to league sources,” Stein tweeted.
There had been some speculation that Kyrie Irving could end up with the Lakers, but this talk seems to have cooled. SNY reported that the Lakers believe the Nets are the favorite to sign the All-Star point guard.
As of late this week, teams interested in pursuing Kyrie Irving remained under the impression that the Nets were the odds-on favorite to land the point guard, per sources. But no team interested in Irving, including the Knicks and Lakers, had been led to believe that they are out of the running to sign him, those sources say.
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Lakers Cap Space 2019: How Much Room Does L.A. Have for NBA Free Agency?