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With 2019 NBA Free Agency on the horizon with just a few days to go, the Los Angeles Lakers made a final push for maximum cap space in order to sign a big-name free agent on Thursday by trading away three of its young players for cap space – ultimately giving the team the freedom to try and sign Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving or Kemba Walker.
Per Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, some of the Lakers’ movements might be impacted by a salary cap that might come in a bit higher than the estimated $109 million.
Yup. The moratorium will determine just how close they’ll be. Execs I’ve talked to expect the salary cap to be slightly higher than the projected $109M. We’ll see.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 27, 2019
If the cap does come in higher than that figure, it would affect a variety of different contracts and teams’ plans – including the Lakers – as a higher cap likely means more space for teams to maneuver during the 2019 free agency period.
The 2019 Offseason is sure to be one of the most impactful in recent memory, as an absolute cavalcade of stars will be gunning for new deals, including some of the biggest names in the NBA of Kawhi, Kyrie, Kemba, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson.
Beyond that, a myriad of lower-tier stars such as Al Horford, D’Angelo Russell, Tobias Harris, DeMarcus Cousins and Khris Middleton will also be on the market – making that increased salary cap total all the more important for teams to looking to gain any edge they can over other teams to sign the free agent they’ve been pining for for months, or even years.
