News broke last week that LeBron James will be sidelined for at least 3-4 weeks due to sciatica on his right side (aka, DNP-Old). The Lakers do have one open roster spot, but help won’t be on the way anytime soon.

After splitting the non-taxpayer mid-level exception between Deandre Ayton ($8.1 million) and Jake LaRavia ($6.0 million), the Lakers are now hard-capped at the $195.9 million first apron. They are not allowed to cross that salary threshold at any point between now and June 30, 2026.

With the 14 players whom they already have on standard contracts, the Lakers are currently at $194.8 million in total salary. That leaves them only $1.1 million below the first apron. A veteran-minimum contract is roughly $2.3 million at the moment. You don’t need an advanced math degree to recogni

See Full Page