Getty Draymond Green and Steve Kerr react to a play in a Golden State Warriors game.
The Golden State Warriors racked up an unprecedented salary in their 2021-22 title season and another massive total for their title defense season, and now the NBA could be looking at a change to prevent that from happening again.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, the NBA has proposed a hard salary cap limit, one that would no longer allow teams like the Warriors to rack up massive payrolls as long as they’re willing to pay the tax bill.
“In the wake of large-market contenders Golden State, Brooklyn and the LA Clippers running up massive payrolls and luxury tax penalties, the NBA is proposing a system that would replace the luxury tax with a hard limit that teams could not exceed to pay salaries, sources said,” Wojnarowski reported.
If passed, the measure would have a significant impact on the Warriors and would lead to the break-up of the team’s veteran core.
Warriors are the NBA’s Biggest Spenders
Golden State has turned in a pair of big payroll seasons, with the potential for an even more massive one on the way. The Warriors dished out $175 million in player salaries and another $170 million in luxury tax payments last season, with an NBA-record $345 million in total costs. As Sportrac reported, the Warriors are facing an estimated $170 million luxury tax bill for this season, leading to a total bill that is close to $359 million.
The Warriors have a big jump coming next season, thanks in part to new contract extensions to Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported, the Warriors could look at paying close to $530 million if they end up giving a contract extension to veteran Draymond Green.
Here’s what the finances in Golden St. could look like in 2023/24:
As The Sporting News’ Micah Adams noted during last season’s NBA Finals, the Warriors have consistently been the league’s biggest spender.
“The Warriors spent over $200 million dollars more than the average NBA team on their roster this past season. And it’s nothing new,” Adams wrote. “This is the fourth time in five years they’ve led the NBA in total money spent on their roster. Over the last two seasons, they’ve spent $632 million on their roster including luxury tax payments. The only other team over that span to spend even $400 million is the Brooklyn Nets at $535 million.”
If passed, the NBA’s new spending proposal would force the Warriors to choose which of their expensive veterans to keep, though Wojnarowski noted that the proposal doesn’t have much momentum behind it.
He reported, “The league’s proposal has been met with the firm resistance of the NBPA, to the point of the union considering it a nonstarter in discussions, sources said.”
Warriors Hoping for Luxury Tax Relief
While the NBA is exploring a measure that could bring an end to the big spending era, Warriors owner Joe Lacob has advocated for a system that would grant an exception for teams that hand big contracts to home-grown players. Nearly all of Golden State’s core players were drafted by the franchise, with the exception of Andrew Wiggins who was shipped over in a trade and turned around his career with the Warriors.
Due to the spending of the Warriors and other large market contenders, the NBA is seeking to put in place an “upper salary limit” on the next CBA
Lacob sounded off on the disparity during an appearance on the Point Forward Podcast, hosted by Evan Turner and Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala. In comments that would later lead to a $500,000 fine from the NBA, Lacob voiced his frustration with being forced to pay a huge luxury tax amount for players drafted and developed by the Warriors.
“The truth is, we’re only $40 million more than the luxury tax,” he said. “Now, that’s not small but it’s not a massive number. We’re $200 million over in total because most of that is this incredible penal luxury tax. And what I consider to be unfair and I’m going to say it on this podcast, and I hope it gets back to whoever is listening.
“Obviously, it’s self-serving for me to say this, but I think it’s a very unfair system because our team is built by . . . all top eight players are all drafted by this team.”
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Warriors Rumors: League Proposal Takes Aim at G.S.’s Massive Spending