NBA: 5 Teams That Are In Serious Financial Trouble

5. Golden State Warriors

Apr 20, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Richard Jefferson (44) before game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors’ financial situation is by far the worse of any of the other teams. Not because of how much they will be paying, but who they will be paying.

Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins will make a combined $20,046,000 next season. Their combined statline for the 2012-13 season was 3.1/4.4/0.9. Jefferson’s most memorable playoff moment was missing two free throws in Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs. That was during a game that ended up going to overtime, then double overtime and an eventual loss for the Warriors.

Biedrins’ most memorable playoff moment was probably his truly un-matchable ability to get five fouls in just 11 minutes of playtime.

You get the point. The duo is a huge drain on the Warriors’ payroll, and they force management’s hand when it comes to trying to keep Jarrett Jack or Carl Landry, or both. They ensure that even if the team can’t retain either of Jack or Landry, they will still run into tax troubles.

The Warriors currently owe about $76.5 million next season, but that is taking into account Landry’s player-option, which he will most likely decline. Assuming Landry doesn’t decline and everything stays the same, and assuming the tax level is the same, the Warriors would owe about $8 million because of incremental rates. Those are some large assumptions, so the actual owed tax would be smaller because 1) Landry will probably decline, and 2) the tax level will be different.

Joe Lacob has shown aversion to going over the tax level before, but he might not have a choice this time. The Warriors will need to find replacement power forwards and point guards, and they will have to pay for them one way or another.