The Los Angeles Lakers are stuck in a huge dilemma. While re-signing LeBron James to a two-year $104 million extension on Wednesday did secure their star player at least for another season, his max contract has raised some major financial concerns. Already flirting with the newly introduced second apron of luxury tax before the deal, LeBron’s massive contract has put the Lakers $1.1 million over the threshold, as per Jovan Buha. And if Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka aren’t able to figure out a way to get rid of this excess salary, they will be heavily restricted in their effort to improve the roster for next season.

For the Lakers to get back under the second apron, the most obvious solution would be LeBron James taking a minor pay cut from his new contract. While just a little dent in his overall income, it will open the doors for Pelinka to equip Bron with some firepower. Initially, there were reports about his willingness to settle for a smaller paycheck if Pelinka had been able to lure a big-name free agent.

However, those plans never came to fruition as the Lakers fumbled their opportunity to acquire Klay Thompson, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and other star players. So, just in case LeBron James is now in no mood for a pay cut, Jeanie Buss will have to look in a different direction to avoid the tax penalty.

While the salary cap for next season is set at $140.58 million, a team crosses the second apron when they surpass $188.93 million in annual salary. And with the Lakers currently having 15 players on guaranteed contracts, their second-best option to save taxes would be through a salary dump trade. Possibly making a move for secondary stars like D’Angelo Russell ($18.6M), Gabe Vincent ($11M), or Rui Hachimura ($17M) in exchange for a player with a lower contract value, the Lakers can shed either one of their massive contracts.

And trading away Vincent might not be such a bad option because he did not contribute much last season because of injury and the Lakers now have their rookie Dalton Knecht to replace him as a sharpshooter on the team. A nearly 40% shooter from deep range, Knecht is only owed $3.8 million next season, which is a big upside for Pelinka.

But if the Lakers do not want to get rid of the limited stars they have left or they aren’t able to find a team with enough cap space to accommodate those trades, they could also go another route by trading away players with minimum contracts in exchange for future draft picks. Not only would that shed the required $1.1 million and more, but it would also open up roster spots for Pelinka to add new players this summer.

In this scenario, he has the option of trading minimum guys like Cam Reddish or Jaxson Hayes. What they cannot do is aggregate players with minimum contracts to get a new player in exchange because of CBA restrictions. But what will happen if the Lakers are not able to shed the required $1.1 million?

Crossing the second apron will cost the Lakers BIG TIME

With the new second apron rules coming into effect for the first time this summer, teams are still getting used to this major change and understanding how it works. But one thing is for certain- no team willingly wants to cross this second apron because of the possible consequences. While crossing the first apron, which is set at $178.1 million for next season, already comes with its restrictions, things only get worse after a team goes over the second apron.

Firstly, teams will be hit by the first apron restrictions of inability to do sign and trades, making trade exceptions, and even not being allowed to acquire waived players with salaries crossing $12.9 million throughout the entire season. While the Lakers are almost certain to face these restrictions because they are far above the first apron, they would want to avoid what comes after.

Crossing the second apron, teams are also restricted from using the mid-level exception in signing new players, aggregating players in trades limiting them to a single contract trade, and even future draft restrictions. On top of that, they will have to pay a hefty sum in luxury tax.

For the Lakers, it will basically ruin their hopes of winning another title next season because they will be unable to sign any good free agent or even make trades during the season like they did last year before making a run to the Conference Finals. Moreover, they will be stuck with their current roster, which got eliminated in the first round this year.

So, there is a lot of pressure on Pelinka and Buss to figure a way out of this situation before it’s too late.

Before you go, do not forget to check out what Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato has to say about the alleged Shaq and Kobe Lakers beef. Keep checking this space for more such updates.