For much of the summer, the Lakers have been looking at the choice of making trades to resurrect (or try to at least) this season, with the idea that cap space to rebuild after the year would be available, but not necessarily large enough to be truly impactful. That changed last week when the NBA announced that the new projections for the 2023-24 season could see an $10-11 million jump, leaving the Lakers with (potentially) $30, maybe even $40 million to work with. Granted, they've have very, very few players on the roster were they to max it out (perhaps just LeBron James and Anthony Davis) and A LOT of holes to fill, but that amount of space could buy one or two good players for sure, or let the Lakers acquire players via trade into that cap space, and they'd still be able to trade the first round pics they've held on to. So is that a better path forward than the presumptive Utah or Indiana deals? What could the Lakers do with that kind of space? And how good are they now? Marc Stein, hardly a bomb thrower, has them at 10th in the first edition of his 2022-23 Power Rankings on the Stein Stubstack, to which you should subscribe. That's behind New Orleans and Portland, as well as the seven teams most scribes put ahead of LA, as well (GSW, LAC, DEN, PHX, MEM, MIN, DAL). Why? Because he doesn't think the Lakers will stay healthy, or can be counted on to do so at the least. To many things need to break the right way. If he's right... wouldn't the Lakers be better waiting? Or, if nothing else, couldn't a very solid argument be made for it, even if it's kinda sad vis-a-vis this year? HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: The NBA's cap math projects a big bump for next offseason. How does that re-frame this year's choices? SEGMENT 2: What options make the most sense? Are the Lakers good enough to make themselves good enough? The West is BRUTALLY tough. SEGMENT 3: So what should the Lakers do? It's truly an Argo situation... but that actually turned out pretty good! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices