lakersrule
ANUSTART
I'm no expert, but I think the soft cap allows you to go over when you re sign your current players. You can't just add new contracts though.
The Lakers will have minimal ways to sign free agents this summer. Pretty much all the options they'll have is veteran's minimum contracts and I believe their mini-MLE. The new CBA makes it harder and harder for teams over the cap to sign free agents. This is what will make the summer of 2014 interesting for the Heat with their pending cap issues/player options.