The Golden State Warriors have seen their team have strength in numbers in a way very few other teams have. The depth of the Warriors’ roster is commendable considering how the front office has made shrewd moves through the years to constantly acquire more assets that they can use on their championship-winning team. It worked out very well in 2022, as the franchise won another ring.
One of the reasons the Warriors have so much talent on their roster is because they are paying a hefty price for those players. The Warriors had one of the largest salary bills in NBA history and paid excessive amounts in luxury tax to keep their team together, irking other owners and executives.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob had criticized the NBA’s luxury tax penalty during his appearance on Andre Iguodala’s podcast. The NBA doesn’t allow owners to do that, so they have given him a $500,000 fine for calling the luxury tax ‘incredibly penal‘.
ESPN Sources: The NBA has fined Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob $500,000 for his recent comments on the Point Forward Podcast discussing the league’s collective bargaining talks, which included Lacob describing the league’s luxury tax system as “very unfair.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 21, 2022
The Warriors have some major salary-cutting moves coming up with the extensions required by Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. In addition, they are also coming a year closer to extending James Wiseman, who has barely been able to stay on the court in his two seasons with the Warriors.
Wiggins is on a massive contract and will need to give the Warriors a discount if he wants to stay here, as it isn’t feasible for the team to pay him and the Warriors’ big three without being deep in the luxury tax. Poole is on a million-dollar contract right now, but his upcoming extension will see him probably become a $20 million-per-year player.
It’s a massive crisis coming for the Warriors’ front office, but they have probably already prepared for this situation, as anyone could have seen it coming from a mile away.
