Total rebuild in LA? This is how much salary space the Lakers will have in 2025

When the buzzer sounded in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, it confirmed what many had already suspected: the LA Lakers are not going to win a championship this year.

They had secured the final playing years of LeBron James and recently added a generational offensive talent in Luka Doncic. However the team proved to be too lopsided, too individualistic to get past a more cohesive Minnesota Timberwolves team in Round 1.

The chastening 4-1 series loss has sparked serious debate about the direction of the franchise and questions have been raised about key roster-building decisions. Bounced from the postseason before May, the Lakers front office has plenty of time to make those all-important offseason moves. But do they have the resources to rebuild the team in a single summer?

Spotrac reports that the LA Lakers currently have a total cap allocation of $214 million for 2025/26, well above the projected $154.6 million projected salary cap. Of course, the Lakers will only really be bound by the levels of the luxury tax hits and they are already close to the first apron limit ($195.9m). The upper limit of the second apron is $207.8 million, meaning that the Lakers aren’t yet up against a hard limit.

The team’s highest earners by far are James ($52.6m cap hit) and Doncic ($46.0m cap hit). James looks certain to activate his player option for next year, while Doncic will absolutely be sticking around. Interestingly, last year it was reported that LeBron James offered to take a major pay cut - between $15-$20 million - to allow the franchise to pursue Klay Thompson, an effort that eventually proved fruitless. If he were to do something again this year that could make a huge difference to the team’s options.

Dorian Finney-Smith also holds a player option for 2025/26 and could be tempted away from the team, potentially freeing up $15.4 million in the cap. He would probably be willing to stay with the Lakers but would demand a bit more security with a longer contract. Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent are all nearing the end of their current agreements and could be considered as trade pieces in rebuild.

In terms of potential targets, there are two glaring weaknesses in this Lakers roster. The first is a center that can dominate in the paint, a key area of difference between them and the Timberwolves in the recent series. The second is a guard that offers more defensive solidity that Doncic, someone who can contain explosive players and help to prevent quick counter-attacks.

With some astute additions the Lakers can round out the team in the offseason and it’s not a stretch to say that they could challenge for a championship next season. But there is major work to do to bring some balance to this uneven team.

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