The Vertical: 2019 Warriors Salary Cap + Luxury Tax Could Equal $300 Million

[Ganji]

After they rip off a few titles I could see KD going to Washington or Steph going to Charlotte, especially if Lebron hits a wall and the East opens up.

I can see Curry going back home, but I don't see KD going to Washington, it's just not a basketball city, and fans are not there. They only have a team, because you have a white house and a senate there. If Kd will go anywhere, it will be back to OKC imo, also Harden might join him.

Neither of those guys is coming back here. At least not until they're old and washed up. Salary alone makes it impractical.

Honestly I don't want Durant back anyway, and that's the sentiment of most of the fan base from what I can tell.

Cavs fans were burning Lebron jerseys and being more buthurt then OKC fans by far, and somehow welcomed him back, with open arms.

[likashing]

That's like 4-5 extra rings from now? I can live with that!

[likashing]

I want to see how the numbers add up to $300m (or did he say $600m?) The tweet's link doesn't even work. Did he really calculate or just pulled a # out of his ass for his tweet bomb?

Last I checked, running a sustained payroll of $20m above the tax line is $65m on repeater lux tax. $85m + tax line is way below $300m (let alone $600m).

Sustained $30m above tax line is $112.5m repeater lux tax. $132.5m above tax line is also below $300m/$600m.

Need to see some numbers from that dude's projection.

[HurricaneKid]

They have to make decisions within the next 2 years. Starting with this summer. To sign Durant and Curry both to the max, they have to renounce their bird rights to players.

Cavs payroll + luxury tax last year was about $170 million and the team lost $40 million. They are in the same ball park again this year.

Dan Gilbert is worth $5.8 billion. Joe Lacob is worth $400 million.

KD can sign a 32M 1+1 and then sign a max deal next offseason and they can keep Iggy (depending on what he wants/salary demands). They would need to rescind Zaza and Livingston. Oh well. Then Zaza/West/Barnes/McGee can decide if they want to stick around on a min/room exc deal. If they don't all re-sign, McCaw will be ready for more min next year anyhow. They will be better next year than this year.

And the Warriors are worth ~3B. Whoever told you Lacob was worth peanuts was wrong. He bought the team for 450M. The equity for the Warriors alone is substantially higher than that and EASILY accessed.

https://www.forbes.com/teams/golden-state-warriors/
Shows >300M a year in revenues. And that is before they open their new arena.

If you actually believe the Cavs are losing 40M/ you need to look into that a little more. I stare at P&Ls all day. You can make paper say a lot of things that just aren't so. Carrying a 40M loss was merely a means to an end for Gilbert.

Player salaries aren't their only expense. The same link shows operating income of $74.2 M on $111 million in player salary expenses. Are they really willing to turn a net positive of $74.2 million into a net loss of $100+ million by letting their player expenses + luxury tax jump from $111 million to $300 million?

So if they make 6 straight Finals (presumably winning more than their share along the way), opening up a new Arena, getting a new regional TV deal you don't think revenues could possibly increase?

[Andre Roberstan]

That's like 4-5 extra rings from now? I can live with that!

hu·bris

ˈ(h)yo͞obrəs

noun

excessive pride or self-confidence.
synonyms: arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, hauteur, pride, self-importance, egotism, pomposity, superciliousness, superiority; More
(in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.

[HurricaneKid]

This is absurd.

Dray is signed THROUGH 2020. Klay is signed through 2019. Projecting the cap for 4 years from now is idiotic. To have those two signed to deals for 4 and 3 years respectively at their outstanding cap #s is outstanding for the Dubs. To pretend this is all going to fall down is comical. KD and Steph will sign this offseason and they will have the best core ever tied up for years to come at salaries the entire league would kill for. Assuming max salary extensions for guys who are under contract for the next 4 seasons is downright stupid.

Projecting the cap for 4 years from now is actually kind of what front offices try to do. And last I checked this year was 2017, which is 2 less than 2019.

It's entirely reasonable to realize that Klay can start working on an extension next offseason and McCaw's contract expires at the same time. Right after Curry and Durant get the super max. The full impact might not hit till the 2019 offseason, but it's not insane to have the discussion.

Klay is eligible for an $8-9M bump in salary 13 months from now, if he was on a team with cap space to renegotiate and extend.

Lotta factors in play.

No. He is eligible for an extension 14 months from now. That salary wouldn't even kick in until November 2019.

[likashing]

That's like 4-5 extra rings from now? I can live with that!

hu·bris

ˈ(h)yo͞obrəs

noun

excessive pride or self-confidence.
synonyms: arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, hauteur, pride, self-importance, egotism, pomposity, superciliousness, superiority; More
(in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.

scha·den·freu·de
ˈSHädənˌfroidə/
noun
pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.

[INKtastic]

KD can sign a 32M 1+1 and then sign a max deal next offseason and they can keep Iggy (depending on what he wants/salary demands). They would need to rescind Zaza and Livingston. Oh well. Then Zaza/West/Barnes/McGee can decide if they want to stick around on a min/room exc deal. If they don't all re-sign, McCaw will be ready for more min next year anyhow. They will be better next year than this year.

And the Warriors are worth ~3B. Whoever told you Lacob was worth peanuts was wrong. He bought the team for 450M. The equity for the Warriors alone is substantially higher than that and EASILY accessed.

https://www.forbes.com/teams/golden-state-warriors/
Shows >300M a year in revenues. And that is before they open their new arena.

If you actually believe the Cavs are losing 40M/ you need to look into that a little more. I stare at P&Ls all day. You can make paper say a lot of things that just aren't so. Carrying a 40M loss was merely a means to an end for Gilbert.

Player salaries aren't their only expense. The same link shows operating income of $74.2 M on $111 million in player salary expenses. Are they really willing to turn a net positive of $74.2 million into a net loss of $100+ million by letting their player expenses + luxury tax jump from $111 million to $300 million?

So if they make 6 straight Finals (presumably winning more than their share along the way), opening up a new Arena, getting a new regional TV deal you don't think revenues could possibly increase?

you think they are going to increase by anything approaching 130 million/year after added expenses?

[Andre Roberstan]

Projecting the cap for 4 years from now is actually kind of what front offices try to do. And last I checked this year was 2017, which is 2 less than 2019.

It's entirely reasonable to realize that Klay can start working on an extension next offseason and McCaw's contract expires at the same time. Right after Curry and Durant get the super max. The full impact might not hit till the 2019 offseason, but it's not insane to have the discussion.

Klay is eligible for an $8-9M bump in salary 13 months from now, if he was on a team with cap space to renegotiate and extend.

Lotta factors in play.

No. He is eligible for an extension 14 months from now. That salary wouldn't even kick in until November 2019.

He said renegotiate and extend, which is different. Have to have cap. It's what the Thunder did with Russ, and it works the way he said (at least as far as it kicking in early...I'm not at a computer rn to check CBAFAQ to confirm you split the right hair on that month).

[Andre Roberstan]

That's like 4-5 extra rings from now? I can live with that!

hu·bris

ˈ(h)yo͞obrəs

noun

excessive pride or self-confidence.
synonyms: arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, hauteur, pride, self-importance, egotism, pomposity, superciliousness, superiority; More
(in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.

scha·den·freu·de
ˈSHädənˌfroidə/
noun
pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.

Surprised you had to look that one up.

[og15]

Im guessing ~$300 mil a year tax hit is assuming that they resign Curry/KD/Klay and Draymond all to max contracts. I wouldnt be shocked if Klay would be the first to go via trade next summer then Draymond the summer after that. This front office appears to be very cap savvy and they have been great when it comes to the draft. Im sure if Klay and Draymond dont take big paycuts they will get traded and this team will look to build around Curry and KD with young prospects and cheap vets.

Letting Klay go is fine, but to me they aren't going to be able to find a Draymond Green like player with any sort of ease, I don't think you let him go, they will have to try and figure out a way to keep Curry/Durant/Green and then surround those three with draft picks, etc. If they're trading Thompson, he's the one they use to get the younger players on cheap contracts and/or picks to fill the roster.

[likashing]

hu·bris

ˈ(h)yo͞obrəs

noun

excessive pride or self-confidence.
synonyms: arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, hauteur, pride, self-importance, egotism, pomposity, superciliousness, superiority; More
(in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.

scha·den·freu·de
ˈSHädənˌfroidə/
noun
pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.

Surprised you had to look that one up.

I didn't need to look up hubris though.

[likashing]

It is the same for all superteams.

18-19 is James' option year. He will be making $40m+ in 19-20
Irving will opt out in 2019 summer and make $35-40m
Love and TT are both FA in 2020 summer.

Love will be $35-40m range as well. TT demanded to be paid as much as Draymond and got ~$80m after holding out. With LeBron being his agent, I'd say TT will get ~$35m as well.

It will be fun seeing how long each team lasts.

[jswede]

Can they afford that?

Lacob and his buddies at KPCB can afford anything.

He's worth $300mil, so yes, he could "afford" a year of it.

[jswede]

Can they afford that?

Most NBA owners could afford that. It's a matter of whether or not they'd be willing to spend that kind of money. Even the owners who are more than willing to spend for a contender like Dan Gilbert have a number they'll finally balk at. At the end of the day, you still want your team to make you money, after all. These guys didn't get rich by losing money on hobbies.

Gilbert is worth $6bil. Lacob is worth 5% of that.

[165bows]

Still haven't seen a strong accounting of what GS, Cleveland and maybe a couple other clubs are willing to throw down in luxury tax during this new revenue environment.

[Dajadeed]

Look at how pinching pennies worked out for OKC.

Any owner who breaks up a great team over money should be run out of town. Any owner that claims they are strapped for $ is a liar.

[jswede]

Because we are still in the 2016-17 season and you are talking about the 2019-20 season.

And while McCaw has shown flashes, I'm not as concerned about a 2nd round rookie who was a -1.7BPM this year. As long as KD/Curry/Dray/Klay are together they will be able to find ring chasers on the cheap to fill in the gaps. And those guys are together for the next three Finals at a minimum. After that who knows. I just think it is a bit premature to start planning that far out. I mean if the Cavs destroy them and KD loses his **** in the Finals who knows if they are even together next year. Planning for a Klay FA after 3 more Finals is hardly the only concern. And if Klay, who will have 80M in career earnings, is demanding a max offer in 3 years it likely means things have gone very well for the Warriors over the last 5 years.

They have to make decisions within the next 2 years. Starting with this summer. To sign Durant and Curry both to the max, they have to renounce their bird rights to players.

Cavs payroll + luxury tax last year was about $170 million and the team lost $40 million. They are in the same ball park again this year.

Dan Gilbert is worth $5.8 billion. Joe Lacob is worth $400 million.

KD can sign a 32M 1+1 and then sign a max deal next offseason and they can keep Iggy (depending on what he wants/salary demands). They would need to rescind Zaza and Livingston. Oh well. Then Zaza/West/Barnes/McGee can decide if they want to stick around on a min/room exc deal. If they don't all re-sign, McCaw will be ready for more min next year anyhow. They will be better next year than this year.

And the Warriors are worth ~3B. Whoever told you Lacob was worth peanuts was wrong. He bought the team for 450M. The equity for the Warriors alone is substantially higher than that and EASILY accessed.

https://www.forbes.com/teams/golden-state-warriors/
Shows >300M a year in revenues. And that is before they open their new arena.

If you actually believe the Cavs are losing 40M/ you need to look into that a little more. I stare at P&Ls all day. You can make paper say a lot of things that just aren't so. Carrying a 40M loss was merely a means to an end for Gilbert.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2017/01/27/how-lebrons-cavaliers-lost-an-nba-high-40-million-last-season/#2c7dcb117699

Explain why it isn't so.

[Guest202]

This is absurd.

Dray is signed THROUGH 2020. Klay is signed through 2019. Projecting the cap for 4 years from now is idiotic. To have those two signed to deals for 4 and 3 years respectively at their outstanding cap #s is outstanding for the Dubs. To pretend this is all going to fall down is comical. KD and Steph will sign this offseason and they will have the best core ever tied up for years to come at salaries the entire league would kill for. Assuming max salary extensions for guys who are under contract for the next 4 seasons is downright stupid.

So in other words: Fake News.

[Edrees]

This does seem fake as others have mentioned, it assumes a fallacy scenario where each player signs the new max each year? Yet many are under contract for years.