Lakers Trade Rumors: Lake Show Must Take Cap Hit and Bring in Michael Beasley

Now is not the time for the Lakers to get cheap. They have one of the all-time great players, Kobe Bryant, who is nearing the end of his window of being an elite player. 

They need to do everything they can to make this team better while he is still able to play at that level. 

The Lakers are currently 25-16, and in third place in the Western Conference. They are just two games behind the Spurs for second, and just 3.5 games separates them from the eighth-place Houston Rockets.

And seeding is going to be more important for this team than any other. There is not another team in the league that has as big a disparity in their record at home vs. their record on the road. 

The Lakers need home court advantage. They could use a boost to the roster to accomplish this. That is exactly what makes the following rumor so alarming. 

The Rumor

ESPN's Chris Broussard tells a troubling tale of why the Timberwolves' Michael Beasley is not a Laker. 

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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.

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Broussard is right. Beasley would fill one of the Lakers biggest needs. He would bring some much needed athleticism and add some scoring punch to the bench. 

Assessing the Cap Hit

Yet, there are the Lakers reluctant to make the trade because they don't want to pay an extra $7.3 million. Broussard broke down the numbers. 

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With one of the league's highest payrolls at roughly $88 million -- well above the luxury tax threshold of $70 million -- the Lakers are due to pay $18 million in taxes this season. Since there is a dollar-for-dollar penalty for tax-paying teams, taking on Beasley's $6.2 million deal would add another $6.2 million to their tax bill and cost the Lakers a pro-rated shortened-season total of $7.331 million.

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It is easy to sit here and say that someone else shouldn't be worried about spending $7.3 million. However, in the Lakers case, it is absolutely true. Here's why. 

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register gives us an idea of the kind of coin the Lakers are making on the TV deal they inked last year. 

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That $5 billion is over 25 years—or it'll be merely $4 billion over 20 years if the future option isn't exercised. It has been widely and wrongly reported as less.

Let's pause and appreciate how much money one club, starting next season, will get per year all to itself just from local TV: $200 million ... when Forbes values the entire Milwaukee Bucks franchise at $258 million.

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The Lakers are making $200 million a year just from their TV contract. Including the luxury tax, LA's payroll is currently checking in at $106 million. 

That's $94 million less than what they are getting from their TV deal, and they are going to turn their backs on a deal that would make their team better because of a measly $7.3 million? 

That is an absurd and disgusting display of greed.