For the Lakers, landing Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards via trade was the splashiest move in the NBA so far heading into the free-agency period, which starts Monday.
By sending out Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the draft rights to Isaiah Jackson, the Lakers now have just five players under contract and will have to be creative to field a team around Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Adding the salaries of James, Davis, Westbrook, Marc Gasol and Alfonzo McKinnie together, the Lakers’ payroll stands at about $131 million, leaving them with not much money to spend on free agents.