New Lakers Rumors on 'Phantom Cap Space' amid LeBron James, Austin Reaves Contract Buzz

Sometimes $50 million isn't actually $50 million, as the Los Angeles Lakers are figuring out as they plan for a significant offseason in which LeBron James can become a free agent and Austin Reaves could be in line for a massive new contract.

Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Lakers have what rival teams are describing as "phantom cap space" that amounts to around $50 million with James and Rui Hachimura set to hit the free-agent market.

The reason it gets described as more "phantom" than reality is because of Reaves, whose current contract contains a $14.9 million player option for next season.

Reaves has until June 29 to decide on his option, but it seems like a safe bet he'll turn it down since he could sign a new deal with the Lakers worth up to $239.3 million over five years. Other teams could offer him a four-year deal worth up to $177.4 million.

The Reaves contract complicates the Lakers' ability to make significant upgrades to their roster. They could renounce the free-agent rights to James and Hachimura to create $50 million in cap space right away, though that would seem unlikely because they would sacrifice their ability to go over the cap to re-sign either or both of them.

This is why it's in the Lakers' best interest for James — with his $59.5 million cap hold — to decide as soon as possible if he wants to stay and if they want to bring him back.

The quicker James makes a decision, the sooner Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka will have a clearer understanding of how much cap room he will have to play with to make roster upgrades.

Time and resources are not on the Lakers' side given how quickly free agency tends to move, especially considering how thin the top of this class looks if they want to make a big splash.