The calm in the NBA after the loud opening of the free agent market was predictable. If not for the soap opera named after Kevin Durant and his still partner in Brooklyn, Kyrie Irving, then the transfer of Rudy Gobert could have become the only truly big deal that involved not only money, but also a real league star and a draft – peaks.
The main newsmakers of recent weeks, of course, have become the Nets and Lakers, who can not solve the problems with their expensive (in every sense) stars. Every day, the relationship between LeBron James and Russell Westbrook acquires new details. Exactly the same thing happens with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who also at first were determined to change the club, and now they seem to be ready to play the season together.
Even James Harden’s contract went unnoticed. And about him “Championship” spoke in detail. It has a lot of interesting details that may be of interest to the NBA. In short: Beard delayed the signing of the contract, giving the club the opportunity to strengthen, and after that he also made a decent discount of almost $ 15 million. This is not prohibited by the rules, but if it turns out that the owners compensated this money bypassing official payments, then the sanctions will not force wait for yourself.
Harden will cede $15 million in a new contract. How cleverly “Philadelphia” bypasses the law of the NBA
Sanctions from the NBA were very well felt by one of the owners of the Warriors, Joe Lacob. The league fined him half a million dollars because of the words he said on the Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner podcast.
In his remarks, Lacob criticized the league for financial regulations that impose a luxury tax even on teams that sign players they drafted.
Warriors – 2022 NBA Champions
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“The most difficult thing is to work with the luxury tax. This week I was at a committee meeting in New York. Obviously the league wants every club to have a chance to win. Now someone thinks that we are buying titles because we have the biggest payroll.
The truth is that we are only $40 million above the luxury tax threshold. It’s not a small number, but it’s not a huge number either. In total, we pay $200 million on top, most of which is incredible fines.
I think this is unfair, because all eight of the best players on the team were drafted by us. We also have guys who weren’t drafted. We found and developed them in the G-league club. This season, all free agents came to us on minimum contracts.
We can only be blamed for turning the outgoing Kevin Durant into Wiggins and it worked out great. But everyone criticized us for it and said that we made a bad deal because he was overpaid. We are punished because we really know how to develop players. If you’re paying Steph Curry and Klay Thompson what they really deserve, then why should you pay another 200 million in taxes? I don’t think that’s fair,” said Joe Lacob.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson
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The salary cap is one of the main rules of the North American leagues, along with the draft of young players. This allows you to somehow equalize the financial capabilities of the teams, giving the tournament more intrigue, which leads to an increase in the cost of the product.
True, the NBA allows exceptions that allow clubs to exceed the ceiling in certain cases. This is precisely due to the re-signing of the contracts of “homegrown” players or those who have already played several years at the club. That’s why the big Golden State trio of Curry-Thompson-Green will receive $48 million, $40 million and $26 million, respectively, next season. Their total salary is already higher than last year’s cap, which was $112 million.
Steph Curry
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One of the Warriors’ biggest problems next season is Andrew Wiggins’ contract. When Lacob talked about how the best players on a championship team were drafted, he forgot to mention that Wiggins hadn’t been drafted. It was an echo of Kevin Durant’s trade, but his maximum contract implies a salary of $33.6 million next season. The four players in the Golden State starting five will earn $147 million, and the payroll for the 2022-2023 season is already $185 million. $140 million
Even in winter, the same Lacob spoke very flatteringly about Wiggins, who really became one of the leaders of the club.
“I would be surprised if Wiggins is not with the Warriors next season. I don’t see how we can replace him on defense. This is a two-way player. It can be called a prototype in terms of dimensions. Walking 20 points. The only question is if it does other things. And he definitely does. In general, what we see at this stage looks good, ”said Lacob.
Clay Thompson
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But a hefty luxury tax is making the current champions’ management consider trading the Canadian. Rumors about this are actively appearing among various insiders, and it looks like the Warriors are looking for the best option for a trade.
For purely financial reasons, Harry Payton II left the team, who in the championship team could only be given a two-year contract with a salary of $ 6.4 million per season. Naturally, after a successful playoff, Payton quickly found an option to continue his career and signed with Portland for three years, during which he would earn a little less than $ 30 million.
The owner’s feelings are understandable. He snatched a lucky ticket in the faces of Steph Curry, Clay Thompson and Draymond Green. Lacob honestly and generously pays the labor of the players around whom a powerful dynasty is built. The club, of course, makes a profit, but the reluctance to give away part of it is more than understandable. But, judging by the size of the fine, the desire to criticize the rules of the league again will appear in Lacob very soon.
