© Brad Mills | 2020 Feb 3
The Warriors were on the brink of being in serious financial trouble for the upcoming NBA season, but have been thrown a lifeline thanks to a new stipulation to the Collective Bargaining Agreement announced on Monday night.
The salary cap and luxury tax will be set at $109.140 million and $132.627 million. That seems like bad news for the Warriors, who have $130.1 million committed to just Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins next season.
But a new wrinkle to the luxury tax should provide the Warriors significant relief, allowing them to actually make some additions to the roster this offseason. Tax penalties will now be reduced in proportion to losses in Basketball Related Income (BRI), which should be significant for the Warriors considering there will be no fans at Chase Center to start the season.
How much could they save? According to cap expert Bobby Marks, if the Warriors chose to use their $17.2 million trade exception this offseason, they could save close to $50 million of what they would otherwise pay.
For example: If Golden State used the $17.2M trade exception and revenue decreased by 30%, they could save close to $50M.
This will help out the Warriors, Boston, Brooklyn and Philadelphia plus possibly a team like Milwaukee. https://t.co/uxII5oQXzl
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) November 10, 2020
All this is to say Joe Lacob far more likely to make win-now moves this offseason, and add to the already star-studded roster. How does the rest of the NBA feel about this? We’re sure you can guess.
This is possibly a significant victory for the Warriors and rival teams are already upset (again). https://t.co/lyNv3EJgGe
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) November 10, 2020
Sorry, folks.