Getty Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson look on during a playoff bout between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings.
After capturing another NBA championship in 2022, the Golden State Warriors broke the bank in order to keep their title-winning crew together. Jordan Poole received a four-year contract extension worth as much as $140 million, Andrew Wiggins got four years and $109 million of his own and Kevon Looney was rewarded with three more years and $22.5 million.
Despite that massive financial commitment, though, the Warriors fell woefully short in their effort to repeat as champions, losing in Round 2 of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
And while new GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. was able offload Poole in the deal netting future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, that move did little to improve the Dubs’ financial outlook for the 2023-24 season (more on that later) amid the recent addition of a second, more punitive tax apron.
Given the astronomical sum that owner Joe Lacob will continue to pay for Golden State’s roster next season, not to mention the reality that said roster is hardly a sure bet to get back to the Finals in 2024, it comes as little surprise that Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz saw fit to rank the club among the Association’s biggest overspenders.
Warriors Hit Top 3 of B/R’s List of Overspending NBA Teams
Rather than simply compiling the list of NBA teams with the biggest payrolls, Swartz based his rankings on which ones are overpaying the most for their players “given the amount of talent and level of success reached this past season.”
Using that criteria, Swartz ranked the Warriors as the third-biggest overspenders league-wide, trailing only the No. 1 LA Clippers and the No. 2 Phoenix Suns.
As it stands, the Warriors owe somewhere in the neighborhood of $181 million in player salary for 2023-24; a number that doesn’t include luxury-tax penalties or a new deal for one of the club’s most important players.
“This is before factoring in a new contract for Draymond Green, who just turned down a $27.6 million player option,” wrote Swartz. “The 33-year-old could re-sign on a multi-year deal with a contract starting at a lower number than this player option, although pressure from the Sacramento Kings in free agency could lead to him getting a bigger deal than the Warriors were originally hoping for.”
The CP3 Trade Could Ease the Team’s Financial Burden Down the Road
If the Paul acquisition works out and they can keep themselves relatively healthy, it’s not crazy to think that the Warriors could get back into the title mix for at least another year. However, as Swartz reminds us, “this thing has the potential to go south quickly” with the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Green and CP3 averaging 34.8 years in age.
In any case, swapping Paul in for Poole should improve the Dubs’ dollars-and-cents outlook further down the road.
“The veteran point guard makes the Warriors the better team now while his $30 million for 2024-25 is completely non-guaranteed. If Klay Thompson re-signs at a significantly lower number than his $43.2 million salary this season, Golden State has a chance to get back under the second apron.”