The Lakers may have an insurance policy that they’ve lacked in the past

In recent years, the Lakers have run into a problem.

They’ve taken a few successful inexpensive fliers, including Malik Monk and Dennis Schröder, but they’ve lacked the ability to retain those guys after they popped. That might not be the case next summer, which could bode especially well for the likes of Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle.

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The NBA recently updated its salary-cap projection for the 2027-28, bumping it up from the initial $174 million to $176 million. The luxury-tax line and the aprons will also rise by roughly $2 million, which will give every team in the league extra financial wiggle room.

That’s particularly valuable for the Lakers, who structured their books to make one more big splash next offseason.

Austin Reaves took $5 million less than a max contract this summer to give the Lakers “more future flexibility.” He did so by taking roughly a 4% raise in 2027-28 rather than the full 8% raise that he was eligible to receive. The Lakers also structured Sandro Mamukelashvili’s contract in a unique fashion, making it dip by $650,000 in 2027-28 before going back up by $650,000 in each of its final two years.

In case you have Windhorst Face right now, the Lakers’ intentions aren’t exactly top-secret.

The new cap projection could make it easier for them to maintain access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, too.

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Could Ziaire or Matisse stick?

Since both Williams and Thybulle signed one-year deals this offseason, the Lakers will only have non-Bird rights on them next summer. That means they can’t offer them more than 120% of a minimum contract or their previous salary (whichever is greater) without dipping into another salary-cap exception.

If either one has a breakout season in L.A., the Lakers could use either some or all of their MLE to re-sign them next summer. If they do have access to the full non-taxpayer MLE, they could always look to split it between Williams and Thybulle, too. Teams don’t have to spend the full MLE on one player. The Philadelphia 76ers split theirs this past offseason between Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons, for instance.

The Lakers should also have…

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Publish date : 2026-10-03 15:24:00

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