Lakers Rumors: Should Los Angeles Use Amnesty Clause on Metta World Peace?

Metta World Peace, the basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest, is being rumored as an amnesty option for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is owed about $22 million over the next three years, and if last season was any indication, he's not likely to give that much value in play in return.

What would it do for the Lakers? They have by far the highest team salary in the league, dishing out $94 million in salary. In two years' time, that would mean the Lakers would be spending $68 million a year in taxes—more than what most teams would be spending in salary.

The problem is that the third year of Artest's contract is about $7.5 million, but if you factor in the luxury tax, his $7.5 will cost the Lakers around $25 million. Now, if that's Kobe Bryant's contract, you eat the tax with a grin on your face, but in spite of what you may have heard, there is a price too high for World Peace.

Peace can be taxing and expensive! That's why amnesty for World Peace is the best option.

Paying a total of $150 million in payroll and taxes might not eat all of the Lakers' profit, as they netted $215 million last year, but the tax alone would eat up half of it, and that might be enough to give Jerry Buss pause, particularly if it's being spent on players who aren't earning their worth. 

With the money that they free up, they can secure Baron Davis or even Rashard Lewis, who have both been rumored to be on their radar. Either player could be obtained for less money.

My guess is the Lakers will still happily pay for a winning team, but while most franchises are worried about staying below $70 million, they'll be trying to keep their spending to under $90 million, where the tax rate gets over 3.75 per dollar over and climbing annually after that.