{"id":258604,"date":"2026-02-17T08:20:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakersnation.com\/?p=258604"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:47:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:47:46","slug":"how-much-cap-space-will-lakers-have-in-summer-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakersnation.com\/how-much-cap-space-will-lakers-have-in-summer-of-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Cap Space Will Lakers Have In Summer Of 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers stayed relatively quiet at the trade deadline this year. They made only one trade, swapping Gabe Vincent for Luke Kennard<\/a> with the Atlanta Hawks, and giving them a 2032 second-round pick in the process. The biggest reason for this inaction is that the Lakers are — fairly openly — prioritizing clean books and cap space in the summer of 2026. <\/p>\n

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was hesitant to take on long-term money last offseason, and that didn’t change at the trade deadline. Kennard is on an expiring $11 million contract — similar to Vincent — which allowed Pelinka to agree to the deal without concern. <\/p>\n

That leaves the Lakers with a projection of around $48.5 million in cap space for the summer of 2026, which is among the most in the league, according to Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron<\/a>: <\/p>\n

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2026 cap space projections (post-trade deadline)<\/p>\n

Bulls: $45-60 million (depends on Ivey)
Lakers: $48.5 million
Nets: $40 million
Clippers: $40 million (No Mathurin)
Hawks: $25 million (No Kuminga)<\/p>\n

Few cap space teams and fewer attainable talent on the market pic.twitter.com\/M81wbuUaIE<\/a><\/p>\n

— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n