Getty Rob Pelinka, Lakers
When you think of an “apron,” you probably think of, say, Julia Child or perhaps Gordon Ramsay. It takes on a much different meaning at this time of year in the NBA, though, and for the Lakers, that meaning is especially significant.
It is the so-called “luxury-tax apron,” at this point, that is keeping Lakers GM Rob Pelinka from piling on some roster help here in the short-term of this early season, and could damage his ability to add important players going forward in the team’s quest to defend last year’s championship.
Think of how important, at times, big man Markieff Morris was in the playoffs last season. He was signed as a free agent after the trade deadline (he was released by the Pistons), and that kind of addition is expected to be an important part of the Lakers’ playoff plans this time around.
The Lakers, according to league sources, are monitoring key players who could be waived after the trade deadline, including Oklahoma City’s Trevor Ariza and George Hill, as well as Minnesota’s Ed Davis.
ALL the latest Los Angeles Lakers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Lakers newsletter here!
The NBA has a luxury tax threshold, of course, and if a team is over that threshold, it must pay a tax. The only way to go over it is to use salary-cap exceptions, but even those have limits. A team that is over the tax threshold by too much—in this case, a little more than $6 million over the tax itself—hits the luxury-tax apron, and can’t exceed that number, with a handful of exceptions.
Most teams are well below the apron. The Lakers, though, are only $912,953 shy of it, according to Spotrac, and that is the reason the Lakers simply can’t add a new player, despite having an open roster spot. The Lakers desperately want to bolster the roster, but they can’t do so until later in the season because of NBA salary math.
Problem is, they will face mounting competition for players who are or become free agents, including teams that can send more money to new players than the Lakers can.
NBA Contenders in Better Position to Spend Than Lakers
Other contenders, though, are more comfortably below that number, or have significant exceptions to use. That is where the Lakers’ plans are in the most danger.
Most notable on the list are the Nets in the Eastern Conference. That is why Brooklyn has been able to sign both Iman Shumpert and center Norvel Pelle in recent days, without the Lakers even having a realistic chance to check out either guy.
Shumpert is a combo guard with a great defensive reputation, while Pelle is an all-defense, shot-blocking type of big man.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn pointed out that Brooklyn could be a big challenge for the Lakers even before the teams have a chance to test themselves in the postseason. Because of their available salary cap exceptions, the Nets have an upper hand in the NBA free-agent chase, and will have that advantage heading into the trade deadline—and after it.
“That won’t be the last time Brooklyn flexes its free-agent muscles over the Lakers,” Quinn wrote, referring to Shumpert and Pelle. “The Nets aren’t hard-capped. In fact, they have so much spending power that they’d be hard-pressed to actually use it all.”
How the Lakers’ Money Lines Up
A quick look at where the Lakers stand in relation to the luxury tax apron compared to other teams shows how hard it might be for L.A. to bring on a top-notch signee during this season. The Lakers signed both Morris and Dion Waiters as free-agents last season, and Morris wound up playing a significant role in the team’s championship run.
That could be tough to repeat when all the Lakers have to work with is that $912,953. The Clippers are similarly hard-capped at $538,608. Milwaukee is in the same boat with only $441,574 to spend.
The Nets have exceptions that can still be used, notably a disabled-player exception from the ACL injury suffered by Spencer Dinwiddie, worth $5.7 million. The Nets also have their entire $9.8 million mid-level exception on hand. That means they can outbid the Lakers, financially, for players who become free agents.
But Utah, tops in the West now, has $3.7 million to spend and still has a $3.6 million bi-annual exception to use. The Celtics are $19.7 million under the tax apron and can use all of that with the $28.5 million trade exception the team has from the Gordon Hayward deal.
The Heat have $14 million under the apron and still have both their $3.6 million biannual exception as well as a $7.6 million traded-player exception for James Johnson available.
The Lakers will have players available to them in the coming weeks, even if they do not make a trade. But competition for those players will be especially fierce.
READ NEXT: Lakers Star Anthony Davis Sidelined With Concerning Injury