In Forbes' recent audit on the top valued NBA franchises, the Lakers came out on top yet again, increasing their worth over 40 percent to $900 million.
The entire league featured a boost in revenue from the new collective bargaining agreement and a slew of new television deals that take teams well into the 2030s, but it is the Lakers who reign supreme, reminding us all why they are able to put a winning product on the court year after year.
This offseason, the Lakers set themselves up nicely to make multiple title runs. Veteran and former two-time MVP Steve Nash is now running the offense. Perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate and multiple All-Star Dwight Howard is protecting the paint.
Role players Antawn Jamison and Jodie Meeks have also come aboard, putting the Lakers in the category of popular teams to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals in June 2013.
And don't forget, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant are still the top two options for this team. Their combined salary is close to $47 million for 2012-13, more than a third of what the league considers a "soft" salary cap.
Adding all that salary would be trouble for some teams. Not L.A., who has the financial backing of one of the league's biggest television deals and ownership that can claim the rights to being some of the richest men in the United States, and even the world.
In 2011, the Lakers struck a deal with Time Warner Cable to blow television coverage of the purple and gold out of the water.
Time Warner gets a monopoly on almost all Lakers games. Their adding coverage to the preseason, training camp and even inside access that wasn't covered with Fox Sports W...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
