After another away defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers in the North American professional basketball league NBA, the Golden State Warriors are separated from the playoffs by only one defeat. With a premature departure on Thursday night (May 11th, 2023), much more than just the season could end.
Admittedly, they wanted an end to the era of success Warriors suggest a few years ago. After Finals-Loss to the Toronto Raptors 2019 came to the Franchise actually two tough years too. Against all odds, Stephen Curry and Co. overcame the crisis and ended up getting back on the field NBA-Throne.
But this time it’s different. No injury to heal, no lack of motivation to return. They are much more Warriors now confronted with a structural problem that has developed over the years
Joe Lacob – the enabler in the background
If there were any doubts about the Warriors’ stars before the last season, they were history by the end of the season at the latest. The fourth championship in eight years cemented the career performance of the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, all of whom were also drafted and developed there. And yet had the entire Playoff-Run could only take place because of one person: majority owner Joe Lacob.
The billionaire has never made a secret of the fact that he would always give the team what it needs for a title in recent years. In the end it was just one thing above all: money – and not a little of it. A star ensemble like that Warriorshas its price, as the native Californian knows. “You have to pay good money for good things”Lacob admitted last year.
Luxury tax is through the roof
But then there would be a second problem: the upper salary limit. A measure that is being considered to maintain balance within the league. Unlike in comparison to the US football league NFL However, this is not a fixed, immovable quantity. In the NBA The following applies: If you pay more than allowed, you pay extra. “Luxury tax” is the word for it, which the Franchise-Makes owners startle.
In this respect, too, the current master is the measure of all things. In the current season the “Dubs” on a luxury tax bill of almost 170 million dollars – NBA-Record! For comparison: the current playoff opponents, the LA Lakers, have to pull out just an additional $ 40 million this year. It could be significantly more expensive again in the coming season.
record suspects payroll – is it worth it?
Thompson and Green are then in their final year of contract – traditionally the highest. The contract extension will also take effect from the summer Youngster Jordan Poole, whose salary increases from just under four to more than $27 million. $170 million in luxury tax then becomes more than $240. And as a reminder, this amount is just on top of regular payroll. Overall, according to insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the salary would be more than $ 500 million in just one season.
Even for the generous Lacob, player salaries are not a bottomless pit, as he emphasized last summer: “There are limits. I won’t say how high, but there are limits to what we can do.” The budget limit is based less on a fixed dollar figure and more on the team’s success in a season. “We’ll see how everything goes this year and then we’ll take care of it in the summer”he noted last October.
Early playoff exit: is the upheaval coming?
The end of the season is now very close. Lose the Warriors one more game against the Lakers, then the second round of the playoffs is tantamount to Joe Lacob’s “let’s take care of it then” moment. One will wonder whether, despite the early exit, one wants to try again next year with this expensive squad and the three superstars – including the record-breaking payroll of half a billion dollars.
It is certainly the dream scenario par excellence that Curry, Thompson and Green will one day be together in the Warriors-Jersey ride into the sunset. But realistically, at least doubts are warranted.