We are answering every question you could possibly have about the Lakers’ salary, draft pick and other team-building situations here.
In the modern era of the NBA, teams and fans have become far more intelligent when it comes to teambuilding, rosters and salaries and the CBA.
To that point, we’ve partnered with SalarySwish to use their data to provide information and answers for every question you may have about the Lakers’ financial situation.
Listed below is our constantly updating, living article that will provide answers to questions you may have. It will update with team moves, from trades to signings and anything in-between. So bookmark the page to stay up to date on the latest changes as the team moves forward!
Here is a table with all of the Lakers’ salary information, courtesy of our friends at SalarySwish:
Because that is a lot of data, let’s dive into a few key pieces of context, what it means and answer any questions may all lead to.
Here are some answers to some of your most frequently asked questions about the Lakers’ salary cap and draft pick situations moving forward.
The only way the Lakers could have cap room this upcoming season is in the unlikely event that LeBron James declines his player option and signs elsewhere. In that scenario, the Lakers would have roughly $14 million in cap room, a number that could more than double to $31 million if D’Angelo Russell follows suit by declining his option and departing.
The max the Lakers could see in cap space if both of those moves take place and the team renounces the likes of Taurean Prince, and Spencer Dinwiddie, and does not extend a qualifying offer to Max Christie is about $38 million.
However, LeBron James almost certainly isn’t leaving, and if that doesn’t happen, the Lakers will not be a team that has salary cap space, no matter what else plays out from Russell to Prince to Christie.
This season, LeBron James was the Lakers’ highest-paid player at $47.6 million. If he accepts his player option for the 2024-25 season, he will once again be the highest-paid player on the Lakers roster at $51.4 million.
While LeBron could be under contract for the Lakers next season, if he is to remain a Laker, he will likely decline his player option and re-sign on a multi-year deal. Because of the over-38 rule, the Lakers — or any other team — can’t offer more than a three-year contract.
The maximum contract the Lakers can offer is worth $162 million.
LeBron isn’t the only max-contract player on the Lakers roster. Anthony Davis is making $40.6 million this season and will make $43.2 million next season. After that, AD’s three-year, maximum contract extension he signed last fall will kick in for the 2025-26 season, earning him $186 million over that span.
The Lakers homegrown star of Austin Reaves cashed in on his breakout season in 2022-23 by signing a four-year, $52 million deal. While it’s significantly less than he could have earned by signing an offer sheet with another team, he still will make $12 million this season.
The Lakers paid just over $7 million in luxury taxes, due to their payroll of approximately $168 million being nearly $3 million over the luxury tax limit.
If the Lakers hold serve on their roster and don’t make any moves before next season, the luxury tax bill will nearly triple next season to $19 million, though that appears unlikely given the early reports heading into the offseason.
The Lakers can currently trade their own first round picks in the:
The Lakers also outright own their 2026 and 2028 first-round picks, but cannot trade them until those respective draft nights due to prior pick obligations from the Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell trades, respectively.
The Lakers will also be able to trade their 2024 draft pick on draft night should the Pelicans opt to take the 2025 first round pick as reports suggest. Therefore, on draft night of 2024, the Lakers could trade as many as three first round picks (2024, 2029, 2031) in a deal.
Additionally, the Lakers can currently trade the following second-round draft picks:
If you found this page useful, please bookmark it and/or share, and if you have any questions or information you’d like to see included, let us know in the comments below!
