(SB Nation Los Angeles, Preston Clark) ESPN's Larry Coon recently broke down the best and worst cap situations for all the teams throughout the league. And guess who is in the worst one? You guessed it, your Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers are $26 million over the cap and $13 million over the tax line and with salary increases coming soon to their big three of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, it won't get any better anytime soon.
In 2013, steep increases on the lux tax penalties will come in to play thanks to the new CBA. It looks like the days of the Lakers being $20m over the luxury tax are coming to an end.
2014 looks like the year the Lakers officially will begin the rebuilding process around Andrew Bynum, but it's 2013 that looks like financial purgatory. Bryant will make $30.5 million at 35 years old, Gasol will make $19.3 million at 33 and a 26-year-old Bynum will likely be around $17 million at that point.
The bank shall be broken, but mass savings is on the horizon as the Bryant era ends (that felt weird to even type) and the Bynum era begins. In the mean time, the Lakers will likely look to shed as much salary as possible to prepare for the new tax bill in 2013.
