Report: Lakers looking to 'unload contracts' to create space for Aldridge, Jordan
Tap here to view theScore's NBA Offseason Tracker, which includes the latest transactions and rumors.
The Los Angeles Lakers are greedy savages who want to sign not one, but two high-profile free agents, despite not having the resources to do so.
Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the team is "working to unload contracts" to "create significantly more cap space," with LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trail Blazers and DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers being their primary targets.
Around the league, executives believe the Lakers are pursuing space to offer free agent deals to LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 30, 2015
It's implied in Wojnarowski's wording that the Lakers would like to sign both Aldridge and Jordan as unrestricted free agents, which would be next to impossible to do considering the team's current financial situation.
Kobe Bryant is the only player on the roster set to make over $6 million next season, earning an outrageous $25 million in the final year of a two-year extension worth $48.5 million.
To even come close to making the numbers work, the Lakers would have to cut ties with a majority of the roster through trades and waivers, and even that wouldn't put the team in position to sign two max players.
If @Lakers trade/waive all but Randle/Clarkson/Russell/Nance/Kobe only get $29.2 mm in space. DJ/LMA together = no pic.twitter.com/bnf96yiP8c
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) June 30, 2015
Guard D'Angelo Russell, who was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, is projected to be the third-highest paid player on the Lakers behind Bryant and "Swaggy P" Nick Young.
Even w/ only Kobe & D'Angelo Russell on the roster, the Lakers don't have enough cap space to offer 2 max deals.
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) June 30, 2015
Aldridge and Jordan could always sign one-year deals for far less than the max and re-sign with the Lakers during the summer of 2016 when the NBA's salary cap is expected to go through the roof.
The idea itself is quite intriguing, as the two bigs would likely play well together with Jordan being the defensive presence down low and Aldridge – who isn't a fan of playing the 5 spot anyway – spreading the floor with his mid-range shooting.
The Lakers will be the first team Aldridge meets with on his free agency tour that includes visits with the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors, and New York Knicks.