As is the case with many teams these days, the Lakers have some worries about money. The difference for the Lakers, however, is that they have an NBA championship to lean on and are simply trying to set aside money to spend and not necessarily save.

The Lakers used their draft night to make owner Jerry Buss' wallet bulge more—selling draft picks away to New York (first-rounder) and Miami (second-rounder) for a total of $3.5 million—in hopes of having more funds to re-sign Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom in July. Both players are unrestricted free agents who want to return to defend their NBA championship but will see what the market offers them.

"Rather than commit to a player for two years when there is a chance based on last year's roster he wouldn't make the ...More