Lakers News: Last Year's 33-49 Team Was One Of That Season's Biggest Luxury Tax Payers

Ouch.

Your Los Angeles Lakers' 33-49 2021-22 season was ill-fated in more ways than one. Beyond being an utter failure on the floor just two years removed from winning it all, Los Angeles still had to cough up more coin than any club that didn't claim a championship in 2022. 

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Lakers contributed $45 million in luxury tax payments last year. That excess cash went into the pockets of several smaller-market teams who did not exceed the salary cap last year in player payments.

The Golden State Warriors' pricey roster wound up costing it $170 million in luxury tax contributions last year, but they also got a Larry O'Brien Trophy out of the exchange, their fourth during the Stephen Curry era. All told, not a bad deal.

Things were different for an LA team that was constructed with a championship in mind, but which instead finished in disgrace as the Western Conference's 11th seed. After Los Angeles stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis compelled team vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka to ship out a ton of quality role players for ex-All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, Pelinka had to scramble to fill out the rest of the team with veterans, most of whom are out of the league this year.

It was a grand experiment that failed spectacularly, as anyone with two eyeballs could have told LA's front office before they made the deal. With Westbrook off their books this year, the team once again sports a roster around James and Davis that makes sense. But will both players be healthy in time for this reconstituted club to make some noise in the 2023 postseason?

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