The Lakers‘ team salary this season is just above the $165.3MM luxury tax line, far exceeding the $126MM or so on the Pacers‘ books.
However, not a single player on Indiana’s roster is on a minimum-salary contract and only four Pacers players on standard deals are earning less than $5MM this season. By comparison, Los Angeles has eight players with cap hits below that $5MM threshold, including five earning the minimum.
While the $500K bonus for winning the NBA’s in-season tournament (IST) may be a drop in the bucket for maximum-salary stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it serves as a significant pay raise for the players on the lower half of the Lakers’ cap sheet, as well as the players on two-way contracts who will receive bonuses worth $250K.
Here are the Lakers players for whom the NBA Cup prize money represents more than a 10% raise on their 2023/24 base salary, which is noted in parentheses:
Players receiving a $500K bonus:
- Jarred Vanderbilt ($4,640,000)
- Note: Vanderbilt’s contract also includes $58K in likely incentives and $145K in unlikely incentives.
- Taurean Prince ($4,516,000)
- Jalen Hood-Schifino ($3,695,040)
- Christian Wood ($2,709,849)
- Jaxson Hayes ($2,165,000)
- Cam Reddish ($2,165,000)
- Max Christie ($1,719,864)
- Maxwell Lewis ($1,119,563)
Players receiving a $250K bonus:
- Colin Castleton ($559,872)
- Alex Fudge ($559,872)
- D’Moi Hodge ($559,872)
The bonuses for Lewis and the Lakers’ two-way players represent a raise of roughly 44.7% on their respective base salaries.
The Lakers’ coaching staff also benefited financially from their in-season tournament success. Head coach Darvin Ham earned the same $500K bonus that his players did, while his assistant coaches divvied up $375K in bonus money.
The Pacers’ players and head coach Rick Carlisle went home with bonuses worth $200K (or $100K for two-way players).
None of this prize money will count against the salary cap, so the Lakers’ team salary for cap purposes remains unchanged, as do the team salaries for Indiana and the other six clubs who made the knockout round of the IST.
The biggest beneficiaries of all were not the Lakers, but elementary school gymnasiums across the United States. The Las Vegas gym floor of primary red and blue delighted school board members and superintendents alike who realized they could save their budget money on gym remodels and instead, be able to invest in a new whiffleball and dodgeball set and four wheeled scooter boards that hadn’t been replaced since the 1970s. When NBA commissioner Adam Silver was asked if the floor design was a bit too loud for television viewers to stomach, he responded, “I think designing courts that look like Cookie Monster and Elmo threw up on the court are inclusive of our next generation of basketball fans. In fact, as part of our NBA Cares initiative, we will have all of our teams play on School Bus Yellow courts for next season’s tournament. Please do not drop any acid prior to viewing, as it may cause permanent psychological damage.”
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It’s a nice check for OnE gm.
Bron once again shows what leadership is all about. Truly one of best ever. I have watched this game a long time. Bron has to be on top of player IQ list. Add the physical tools and commitment. Then you know why he’s one of best ever. Definitely a GOAT