"The Warriors are sensitive to the concept that they bought the championship" - Brian Windhorst on Joe Lacob calling the NBA's luxury tax system very unfair, says there will be discussions in the next CBA
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob was fined $500,000 by the NBA for his comments about the luxury tax on "The Point Forward" podcast. Lacob was penalized because it involved topics regarding the collective bargaining agreement.
The Golden State Warriors owner called the league's luxury tax system "very unfair." Lacob pointed out that the team drafted and developed the majority of their players. He believes that the NBA should not penalize teams like Golden State because they didn't buy the championship roster.
"If you're developing your own guys and paying Steph Curry what he deserves and Klay Thompson what he's earned, why am I paying $200 million in luxury tax? I don't think that's fair," Lacob said.
The Warriors had the most expensive roster in the league last season. The team's payroll amounted to $184 million, which was above the NBA's $136.6 million luxury tax threshold. Lacob ended up paying an estimated $170.33 million luxury tax.
As per Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Golden State has a valid reason about calling out the league's luxury tax system. He explained that they have developed most of their players, and the organization does not want the notion that they bought the 2022 championship.
"The Warriors are sensitive to the notion that they bought the championship because they don't believe that," Windhorst said. "They believe that they drafted and developed players. Those players got so good that they had to pay them. That's a totally fair thing to say."
Winhorst added that the NBA might take into account what Golden State has done this season for the next CBA:
"The Warriors recognized that it has gotten a little big out of whack. The rules to keep the more competitive balance with the luxury tax are not penal enough. There's a decent chance that there's going to be some corrections that could put sort of sideboards on the Warriors into the future."
Golden State Warriors out of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes
The Golden State Warriors were linked to a possible reunion with Kevin Durant after he requested a trade out of the Brooklyn Nets. However, Golden State's general manager Bob Myers has taken the team's name out of the Durant sweepstakes.
In an interview with Mark Medina of NBA.com, Myers revealed that the defending champions will run it back next season. They might have lost several key players in free agency, but replaced them with really good options. Golden State also has their young guns ready to step up for a bigger role.
"I like our team and where it’s at," Myers said. "I want to give the guys a chance to do it again."
"We kept most of it together, but we have to stay healthy. I didn't think we'd make it last year, but we did. I watch like you do. We'll see what happens."
I caught up with Warriors GM Bob Myers at the ESPYs. Considering what Myers said here generally, safe to say Warriors don't plan to reunite with Kevin Durant. Myers: “I like our team and where it’s at. I want to give the guys a chance to do it again.” on.nba.com/3cAb1qZ https://t.co/eVN1ADLiOa
Golden State lost Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damion Lee and Nemanja Bjelica this offseason. They replaced GPII and Porter with Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green. They drafted Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins, while also adding Lester Quinnones and Mac MacClung.