NEWSLETTER
The Golden State Warriors don’t care about money.
After big seasons for both Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins, the organization handed both players massive extensions on Saturday. Poole, who came off the board with the 28th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, signed a four-year, $140 million deal. As for Wiggins, who is fresh off his first NBA All-Star appearance, re-committed to the Warriors with a four-year, $109 million extension.
Already one of the most expensive teams in the NBA, the new contracts only further prove how little this organization cares about spending the big bucks. Indeed, with both Poole and Wiggins re-upped for the long-haul, the Warriors are staring down an unprecedented payroll and luxury tax for the 2023-24 season of around $483 million, per ESPN.
This is just bonkers:
While it’s possible the team moves on from a contract or two by then to get that luxury tax payment down (Draymond Green’s future is the biggest topic of conversation after his practice incident with Poole), the team is still seemingly prepared to pay whatever it takes to have one of the most loaded rosters in the league. And I can’t imagine that makes the NBA too happy.
The luxury tax penalty exits, in part, to keep things balanced league-wide. Not every organization has the money to spend on such a deep roster, particularly those that exist in smaller markets. So while there is never a way to truly get rid of the benefits of a big city franchise, I’m not sure the league office ever expected to see a team take this much advantage of their superior spending power.
At the same time, I can’t blame the Warriors. Governor Joe Lacob wants to win championships, and I’d give almost anything to have an owner who will spend every nickel and dime to make that happen. Instead, the Bulls are dealing with an ownership group that has paid a luxury tax bill just once in franchise history, despite being one of the league’s top brands.
Look, to be clear, I’m not saying a team should fly over the tax just to pay the tax. But there is no question that the natural willingness to do it for owners like Lacob and Steve Ballmer allows a front office to be far more aggressive in its team-building approach. And a more aggressive team is almost always a more successful team.
