According to Hoopsworld.com, three Los Angeles Lakers players -- Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol -- will rank among the NBA's 10 highest-paid players during the 2012-13 season.

Bryant tops the list with a salary of $27,849,149. That's nearly $7 million more than the next highest-paid player, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, who's set to earn $20,907,128.

Newly acquired center Howard ranks sixth, with a '12-'13 salary of $19,536,360 for the year. New frontcourt mate Gasol is right behind him in seventh ($19 million even).

The Lakers have never been shy about spending money on players, but the new constraints of the post-lockout collective bargaining agreement will make this lineup very costly for the team in the long run. They will pay a significantly higher luxury-tax rate following the upcoming season than they have in years' past.

Winning NBA titles is a pricey business, but the Lakers have a history of being willing to invest whatever it takes to remain among the league's elite franchises.

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