Lakers Hard-Capped After Offseason Moves

In an effort to address the roster gaps, the Los Angeles Lakers made a number of offseason changes. Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia gave the Lakers more depth in the frontcourt, but their roster is still far from being deep and talented enough to compete with the NBA's top teams.

The Lakers now have a roster spot vacant, but they are unable to sign another player, which makes things more difficult. The Lakers are hard-capped at the first apron since they signed Ayton and LaRavia under the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, as ESPN reported this week. Because of this, they can't sign a 15th player until January 18. The Lakers need to move on from Maxi Kleber to create space for a free agent like Al Horford. Kleber, 33, is on an $11 million expiring deal for 2025-26. LA can trade him with draft capital or use the stretch provision to spread his salary over three years.