Warriors not expected to let salary cap impact roster building
By Justin Fried
The Golden State Warriors aren’t expected to be impacted by the decreased salary cap.
The Golden State Warriors were going to be over the salary cap next season no matter what happened. But given the expected shrinkage of the NBA’s salary cap in wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they’ll be over much more than projected.
The foursome of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins will cost the team about $120 million next season, a figure that would have already topped the initially projected cap of $115 million.
But with the fallout from the loss of income following the league’s postponement, that number could shrink as much as $15 million when all is set and done. As a result, teams paying the luxury tax will be required to pay even more than expected.
It’s going to be an offseason unlike any we’ve seen before. But for the Warriors, they’re not going to let the decreased salary cap affect their roster-building strategy.
Expect the Warriors to continue spending this offseason.
Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Saturday that the Warriors are entirely focused on contending and know that their window for success is growing smaller.
"“Golden State is unlikely to let a drop in the cap change how it approaches roster-building. [Joe] Lacob realizes that with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all in their early 30s, the Warriors might only have a three- or four-year window to win another title.Even if it requires a massive luxury-tax burden, Golden State will do what it can to capitalize on the rest of its core players’ prime years. Anything else would go against what this ownership group has come to represent.”"
For anyone expecting the Warriors to undergo somewhat of a complete rebuild this offseason, this pretty much confirms the opposite.
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The Warriors know that their core of players isn’t getting any younger. They know that their current stars may not be able to continue playing at such a high level for too much longer.
And as a result, they’re prepared to pay what it takes to ensure that they remain contenders.
Now, the team does have a number of cost-saving measures that they could take this offseason. They’ll have access to the tax-payer mid-level exception and a $17.2 million trade exception. They could even opt to trade back in the 2020 NBA Draft to avoid paying a higher cap hit.
But it doesn’t seem as though they have much interest in remaining cheap. And ultimately, is this even much of a surprise?
Lacob and co-owner Peter Guber have opted for spending to succeed over selectively spending since they purchased the franchise back in 2012. And given the current state of the roster, it only makes sense for them to continue taking that route.
Next. Warriors: With the season now over, a new era begins. dark
The majority of the NBA world is going to be negatively affected by the diminishing salary cap, but the Warriors look to be in better shape than most teams.