According to ShamSports, the Lakers are currently over the $63 million salary cap for the 2014-15 season; they are set to parcel out upwards of $65 million to 10 players.
That calculation doesn't include two additional signings, though.
Per Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, L.A. used its room exception—available in lieu of a mid-level exception to teams that begin the offseason below the salary cap before spending above it—to bring back Xavier Henry after previously using a chunk of it on Ryan Kelly. Pincus also reports that the Lakers re-signed Wesley Johnson for the league minimum.
Those most recent contracts illuminate the circumstances for the Lakers moving forward: Henry received the only money L.A. had left to spend above the minimum, so any other talent would have to come via the same kind of deal Johnson took. There are no more splashy acquisitions like Jeremy Lin in the near future.
Pincus presumes that second-rounder Jordan Clarkson will be the 13th man on Los Angeles' roster, leaving two more spots with which to add contributors for one of Kobe's final postseason pushes. If L.A. wants that goal to be at all attainable, it will have to make these final pickups count.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
