To build an NBA championship contender, the Warriors spent — both on homegrown talent and otherwise — an unprecedented amount of money. And if Golden State chooses to dive even deeper into the luxury tax to re-sign key players going forward, the numbers will only grow more ludicrous.
Rival executives, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, aren’t thrilled the way the Warriors ownership group has outspent the rest of the league. The 2021-22 Warriors, and team governor Joe Lacob, are paying a league-record $346 million in salary and tax. If GSW extends Jordan Poole and brings back Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II going forward, that number could skyrocket to $475 million according to Lowe and ESPN cap expert Bobby Marks.
“Rivals are already grumbling about Golden State’s competitive spending advantage, sources say,” Lowe wrote.
Poole is extension-eligible this summer and has played himself into a hefty contract. Wiggins is due over $33 million for the 2022-23 season — the final year of his deal.
When teams exceed the salary cap of $122 million, they have to pay a premium on contracts signed. So if Golden State decided to bring back Payton and Looney, they’d be paying both their contracts and luxury tax payments associated with overspending. Luxury tax spending gets spread to teams who are below the tax via revenue sharing.
Most of Golden State’s budget is focused on their core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. But when the Warriors traded D’Angelo Russell for Wiggins and the draft pick that became Jonathan Kuminga — the key trade that has extended the franchise’s dynastic window — they added another gargantuan salary to their books.
Lowe’s story features new, eye-opening details of how the Wiggins trade went down, including how Timberwolves Ryan Saunders once pulled a chest muscle while yelling at the forward during halftime and how draft pick protections nearly squashed a deal.
In two Finals games, Wiggins is averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while playing strong perimeter defense against Boston’s wings. Without him, the Warriors almost certainly wouldn’t have made it to their sixth title round in the past eight years. It pays to pay.
