Los Angeles Lakers To Pay Nearly $30 Million In Luxury Tax

The NBA has billed six teams for luxury tax payments. Some of the teams on the list might not surprise you. The star studded rosters of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat make the cut. The Boston Celtics big 3 made the list as well as the New York Knicks who have a plethora of talent on their roster.
For the Lakers, paying roughly $29.26 million to trot out a roster that includes Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace would seem like a no-brainer. That should guarantee you to be in the running for a NBA Championship right?

Wrong. The Lakers high priced gamble failed when injuries took their toll and the chemistry never quite developed for the star studded cast.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein:

"The Lakers will be forced to pay more than $29 million in luxury tax for a team that — thanks to a steady stream of injuries and L.A.’s well-chronicled chemistry problems — barely squeaked into the playoffs and will go down as one of the biggest underachievers in league history.The figures, distributed late Tuesday to the league’s 30 teams, reveal the Miami Heat ($13.35 million), Brooklyn Nets ($12.88 million), New York Knicks ($9.96 million), Chicago Bulls ($3.93 million) and Boston Celtics ($1.18 million) join the Lakers ($29.26 million) in facing tax bills for their 2012-13 payrolls."

But what does the NBA do with all that tax money?

"Fifty percent of the total tax of $70.57 million paid by the six teams will be used to fund revenue sharing for the 2012-13 season, according to the 2011 labor agreement. The remaining 50 percent will be distributed in equal shares to each non-taxpaying team.Sources told ESPN.com that each non-taxpaying team will thus receive 1/24th of $35.28 million, or $1.47 million per team."

The six teams that have been slapped with a luxury tax bill have till July 24th to make their payments.