Lakers Unable to Sign Another Free Agent, Per Major CBA Problem

Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors goes into great detail the financial situation LA finds itself currently in. The Lakers essentially will not be able to sign another player (on a minimum salary deal) until January 18 unless a trade to shed salary occurs before then. Much of this was put in place based on the signings already made this summer.

"Operating with a first-apron hard cap was always the plan for the Lakers, who used every dollar of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton, then used their bi-annual exception on Marcus Smart for good measure.

"Although LeBron James didn’t sign a new contract this offseason, having simply picked up the second-year player option on the deal he completed last summer, the small pay cut he took in 2024 has now helped the Lakers navigate a hard cap in two consecutive seasons," Adams writes.

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According to Adams, there could be the framework of a possible deal to free up cap space and abolish the January 18th date. It revolves around three players in particular.

"The Lakers are an obvious candidate to make a trade at some point this fall or winter, with Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Maxi Kleber all on mid-sized expiring contracts," Adams adds. "If they complete a deal well in advance of the deadline and send out a couple million dollars in salary more than they take back, they could open up space for a 15th man earlier than January 18."

There's really not any sort of player on the open market that could greatly increase the current ceiling of this team. As such, when looking to improve the roster, Rob Pelinka likely will utilize the trade market.

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