The Lakers have managed their salaries so that only Steve Nash is under contract at $9.7 million for the 2014-15 season. That can shrink to a completely empty roster if the Lakers implement the stretch provision to cut Nash -- reducing his cap hit in 2014 to only $3.2 million.
Some Lakers fans are not fond of James,(none of us are) given their loyalty to Kobe the GAWD Bryant, but the team has to think about the future. While Bryant has vowed to return to form after surgery to repair his torn left Achilles' tendon, he has also hinted that he's not too far from retirement.
Why wouldn't the Lakers go after the best player in the league in James -- a four-time most valuable player -- especially if Bryant is retiring?
The NBA recently gave teams a projection of $58.5 million for next season's salary cap and $62.1 million for the summer of 2014.
The Lakers are waiting for the decision of center Dwight Howard, who will hit free agency in July. If he re-signs, he could make up to $22.05 million for the 2014-15 season.
If the Lakers kept Howard but shed every free agent, including Bryant, Nash and even their 2014 first-round draft selection, they'd have approximately $31.2 million in cap space. (Note that the league includes an empty roster charge on a team's cap for open spots up to 12 players, $507,336 each in 2014.)
James would be eligible for a deal starting at $20 million, leaving the team with about $11.7 million in space to keep shopping. With that, the Lakers would still have the ability to sign a high-level free agent to join Howard and James.