Lakers Rumors: Rejected Offer for Michael Beasley Latest Sign of LA's Free Fall

Don't look now, but the Lakers have gotten cheap. That is a long way removed from the franchise that has soared over the luxury tax and did it with a smile on their face and trophies in their hands. 

Now, the franchise that is tied to excellence has joined the ranks of the rest of the NBA as they are scared of the luxury tax and are much more concerned about their bottom line than their wins and losses. 

This suspicion had been creeping in all year. It started with the gifting of Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks. It was hard to interpret that move as anything but a salary dump, but there was the fleeting hope of Lakers fans that they would turn around and use the trade exception they acquired to add someone later in the season. 

Well, in light of the following news, the Odom trade was most definitely a salary dump. 

ESPN's Chris Broussard shares this info. 

"

The Minnesota Timberwolves offered to trade Michael Beasley to the Los Angeles Lakers for a first-round draft pick, but the Lakers turned them down, according to a league source.

While Beasley, a talented and athletic small forward, would fill one of the Lakers' greatest needs, the Lakers rejected the offer because they do not want to add to their luxury tax bill, according to the source.

"

This was a golden opportunity for the Lakers to get some value out of the deal for Odom and they turned their back because it was too expensive. 

It would be nice to say, "Well, they must be saving that for a bigger deal," but at this point that notion falls somewhere in the completely absurd category. 

Don't expect the Lakers to use this trade exception at all. They aren't going to bring on more salary than they deal away because all of a sudden the great franchise has gone cheap.